


Crossfire

by phantomofsam



Series: Azure [1]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men: First Class (2011) RPF
Genre: Angst, Cold War, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Humour, Mental Scarring, Mutant Powers, Smut, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-10-11 09:06:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 40,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10461126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomofsam/pseuds/phantomofsam
Summary: Poland, 1944: A young boy discovers his powers as his mother is ripped away from him. He is tortured as Dr. Klaus Schmidt attempts to discover the root of them.Massachusetts, 1951: A young girl's powers are forced into the light as she falls from a tree. She's taken from her family and tortured for 8 years as they tried to discover what, exactly, created mutants.London, 1961: They meet with one common goal: defeat Sebastian Shaw.Follows the plot of X-Men: First ClassThe Sequel, Azure, is out and about. Check it out if you like this one





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey I hope you enjoy this story. I do actually have it finished. I don't know if I'll post it all today, but who knows? We'll see what happens.

“Skylar, be careful! Mom’ll kill me if you get hurt!” John yelled up.

Even from here, I could tell that he was smiling. John and I didn’t get to see each other that often and the days that he came to visit were some of the best days of my life. I was high in the branches of a tree. He was supposed to be watching over me. He was older than me by about 20 years, give or take. He was my favourite out of all of my siblings and I was the youngest of eight. We had always gotten along. I locked my legs between two branches and turned upside down. I loved being in the open air with everything around me. It was so freeing. No one else was up here with me. I was alone. I looked down at John. Well, except for John, of course. John was wearing a white button down and khakis. He had his hands on his hips and looked like he was ready to scold me again, but the smile on his face gave him away. I let my arms fall over my head as the gentle breeze started to push me back against the trunk. My hair tickled my arms.

“All right, Sky, we’ve gotta get back to the house. Jackie’ll be here any minute and I want you to meet her.”

That was right. He was introducing his new girlfriend to the family today. That was the main reason that he had come home so early. I hoped that she was nice.

“Okay, John,” I sighed, “I’m coming down.”

I pulled myself back up and unhooked my legs. There were little red marks where the bark had pressed into the bare part of my legs. As I climbed down the tree, I felt the bark under my feet slip off of the branch. I had forgotten about the rain a few days earlier. The underbark was still damp and slick. I couldn’t regain my footing. The momentum made me lose my grip on the branch above me. I started falling forward.

Everything happened in slow motion after that. I saw John running towards me and I could see the ground getting closer. That wasn’t what scared me. What scared me was the searing pain that I felt in my back. It was between my shoulders blades. It felt like something was trying to force it’s way out from underneath my skin. I let out a cry as two great wings emerged from my back. They caught some of the air and slowed my fall enough for John to catch me. The wings disappeared as quickly as they had shown up. The force of the fall was enough to throw both John and I to the ground. I could hear a loud snap and I head John curse. He never cursed.

He carried me to the house, calling for our parents. I couldn’t feel anymore. I couldn’t move. I laid limp in his arms. Mother screamed when she saw me. Rob, one of my brothers, ran to me. He checked for a pulse, confirming at least that I was alive. I had no doubts about that. 

Rob, John, and our father drove me to the hospital. I was taken to a private room where they weren’t allowed. They ran several tests on me. I could hear the doctors talking, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. They left me alone in my bed. Slowly, I felt tiny pin pricks all over my skin as sensation came back to me. After a while, I could move again. I started by moving my fingers. Almost as soon as I made this discovery, a man in a crisp white lab coat and a neat black suit came in. He smiled at me. I didn’t like him. I wanted to see John. I wanted my father. I would have taken anyone other than this man. His smile wasn’t kind. There was a secret behind it. He knew something that I didn’t and he was more than willing to hurt me. I could almost feel his malintent. I wanted to get up and run away, but I couldn’t quite find my strength. It was all resigned to my fingers at the moment.

“Ah, Miss Skylar, you’re awake. Wonderful. We have a few more tests that we would like to run before your family can see you. You’re going to feel a slight pain. Nothing to be worried about.” I winced at the needle. I could feel that. “And now you’re going to go to sleep for a short while. When you wake up, this will all be over.”

The world around me faded in and out of darkness for longer than I could keep track of. I could only make out snippets of what was happening around me and none of it made any sense. Most of it was medical terms. Some of it was laughing and people talking about their days from far away. It all blended together into one nonsensical blob. All I really knew was that I was scared. I wanted to call out to my brother. I wanted someone to come and save me. Surely my family knew that I was gone. They would have to be looking for me. Right?

“-a perfect candidate.” I started to come back to full consciousness and I could finally understand what they were saying.

“Indeed. I take it we’ll go with procedure A?” A second voice said.

“Yes, and you’d best hurry it up. She’s starting to wake up.”

There was yet another sharp pain in my arm. It felt like there was fire running through my veins, but I couldn’t move. I wanted to scream, but my mouth felt like it was glued shut. There was nothing I could do except meekly hope that it would be over soon. I had no way to know the pain I felt that first day would be nothing compared to what was waiting for me. The first doctor I saw held open my eyelids and flashed a light in front of my eyes. 

“All right, it’s done. Bring in the family.”

There was nothing to prepare anyone for what happened next. My father and my brothers came into the hospital room. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them. It was terrible. I had never imagined my father as the type of man capable of tears. He was gripping my hand and shaking with each sob. Robert didn’t come over but John, my dearest brother John took me in his arms. He gripped the back of my hair and breathed heavily. I desperately wanted to grab him back. I wanted to embrace my brother and tell him that I was alive. Because I was. Did he sense it? Did he know? The “doctor” explained that the fall, despite John having caught me, had broken my back. There was nothing that they could have done. John never let go of me. He just held me close and whispered in my ear all of the things that he had seen my accomplishing. All of the things that I would never get to do.

Eventually, John and the rest of my family left. My bed was wheeled down the the morgue. I sat there for God knows how long, unable to move, unable to look around. I wanted to cry, but my eyes were dry. Soon, I was able to open my eyes and saw a clean white ceiling above me. A man leaned over my table.

“You, Skylar, are going to be pivotal in the future. The part you’re going to play? You’ll change the course of human history, my dear.”

I spent the next 8 years in a metal cage barely big enough to fit a dog. I had lost the will to go on. There was no point. I knew that I would never see my family again. Even if I could, they would turn away from me. I was a freak. I was a monster. I was a mutant. Once a day, I was taken to another room for experiments. I was strapped to a table most days while they tested the limits of my healing factor. Sometimes, they’d take samples of DNA, but their all time favourite? They loved to force my wings to come out from their resting place. 

My mutation allowed the great wings to rest neatly underneath my skin. I could feel them there, just waiting to reach their full span. They could only be seen with an x-ray when sheathed. However, when unfurled, they extended to a staggering five feet each, ten feet in total. The feathers were a shiny black with grey specks scattered amongst them. There was a spot between my shoulder blades that could force the wings from my back. The force of it tore open my skin. My healing factor could barely keep up. It left nasty scars along my back. After a few months, I gave up trying to escape. There was nothing I could do to change my situation.

More mutants were brought into the facilities over the years. Some died, some lived. I was the favourite pet of the doctors there. They never let me get that close to death. It was almost like they expected me to thank them for ripping me away from my family and tearing me apart day in and day out. No. My mind was made up at that point. On the eighth year, I made my plan to escape. I was going to break free. The never ending torture had left me weak but I was still strong enough to get out. 

When they were taking me back to my cage, I stole the key from one of the guards. I waited until all of the lights were out and the night guard had gone before opening the lock and breaking out. I looked around for a way out. As I looked, I saw the desperate faces of the other mutants. I couldn’t leave them here. I opened the cage next to mine. It was a man about my age. He had dark hair that reached to his shoulders and stubble on his chin. It wasn’t like they ever really gave us a chance to clean up. In my case, they had shaved my head to get a better look at my brain. I was lucky that those scars had faded away. I shook my head.

“What’s your name?” I asked as I helped him out. 

I was shocked at how different my voice sounded. I had lost my boston accent. It had the british lilt that so many of the doctors had. I hadn’t spoken in such a long time.

“George. You?”

“I don’t…” I couldn’t remember. It was faint, but still there, like a whisper of a life that I used to have. “Sky. My name is Sky. Can you get the rest of these open?”

“Maybe. I think if I…” He closed his eyes and raised his arms. 

Tiny columns of stone rose up from the ground and started to break the locked open, one by one. Slowly, the mutants exited the cages. I jumped on top of one of the metal tables and looked out over them. I was 22 years old. I had survived. I could see the faces of children who had been even younger than I was when I first got there. I looked out amongst them all. None of them deserved what this place stood for. 

“You’re free.” I said. “Go and enjoy that freedom. Find your families. Start new lives. And never forget. Never.”

They all nodded. I looked up. I could see a window up above. The dim light of night was shining through. I could almost feel it against my skin. I unfurled my wings. It didn’t hurt. It wasn’t supposed to hurt when they were let out properly. I looked at the feathers. They were dull and a few of the feathers were falling off, but they were a part of me. I pushed off of the table. The wings were an extension of me. I had full control. I smiled. For the first time in my life, for the first time in eight years, I was really flying. I was in the air in control of it all. I looked above. The window was nearing with alarming speed. I turned away and held up my arms. 

I made contact with the glass. It shattered around me, cutting my arms and my wings. But I was free. I was well and truly free. That was what mattered, my freedom. It was what I had always wanted. I flew away from the facility. I heard the alarms. I looked down. From here, I could see the others. They were fighting back. And they were winning. I smiled. We were winning. For once, we stood a chance against these mad men.

My joy didn’t last long. I could feel my strength fading. I began to fall. My wings slowed the descent significantly. I landed somewhere in the woods. Tree branches cut at my arms as I fell through the trees. I pulled my wings closer around me to help protect me from it all. I landed on the forest floor and rolled over onto my back. I could hear someone getting closer to me. I didn’t have the capacity to care. I closed my eyes and fell into a peaceful darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey like I said, completely done, just sort of rationing out chapters. If I keep this up, then it will be all up in like a week. Woo.

I woke up sitting next to a fire. My wings were still extended. There was a bandage on one of them. I gently pulled it off. I had to say that my wings looked like they were in much better shape than they had in years. I wondered who had done that? I looked around. I was in a lone cabin. Someone had brought me here, clearly. Who? Was it the person that I had heard walking through the woods? That would make the most sense. I gently pushed myself to my feet. I slowly sheathed my wings once more so they rested safely behind my back once more where they belonged. I walked around the cabin. There were no pictures, only paintings. I hadn’t seen paintings in so long. They were beautiful. 

I had no idea where I was. The feeling of it began to set in for the first time. I looked around the cabin again. It had that general charm cabins had, what with it’s antiquated furniture and quaint familiarity. I thought back to the home I had once had. I shook my head. There was no need for that right now. I had more important things to worry about. Like the sound I heard from what I believed to be the kitchen area. I couldn’t tell. It was behind closed doors. My muscles instinctively tensed. I could feel my wings straining behind my back. I wasn’t going to run. I had _just_ gotten my freedom back. I wasn’t going to let someone take it away now. The door swung open. A young woman around my age stepped out. She had short brown hair that reached her shoulders. Her blue eyes were filled with kindness, not the cold curiosity of the scientists I had known for so long. I could feel myself relaxing under her warm gaze. She set the bowl in her hands to the side.

“You’re awake. Finally. You’ve been asleep for hours. Well, I guess unconscious is a far better word.” Even her voice had a kind lilt to it.

“Who are you?” I asked. 

“My name is Monica Miller. What’s yours?”

“Sky. You… saw my wings? You weren’t afraid?”

I was genuinely surprised. Even from my cage, I could see that the assistants were afraid of me. They could see what I had the potential to be. A part of me wanted to become what they saw me as. It was a voice inside of my head that believed they were all like that. That they all wanted to dissect me and pull me apart. They wanted to see what made me tick. There was something about the way that Monica was looking at me that changed all of that. It made me believe in human kindness. In real human kindness. Her eyes reminded me of John, with their kind shape. Maybe that was why she was instantly able to calm me.

“No. I’m intrigued, yes, but not scared. I mean, a human with wings! That’s something everyone’s dreamed of at least once in their lives.”

“It isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, believe me.”

“Well, when I found you, one of your wings was broken. I mended it as best I could. I hope that will do.”

“Oh. It healed on it’s own.”

“But it wasn’t exactly a clean break. How is that possible?”

I extended the wing that had had the bandage on it. She took a step forward and hesitated, like she was asking for permission. Another abnormality. I nodded. She gently touched the wing, feeling the bones and examining the feathers. In a few short hours, they had turned from a dull grey with feathers falling out to a sleek black with grey specks, full of feathers once more. It was amazing. She ran a finger along one of the feathers.

“Amazing. They’re fully healed. As are you.”

“One of my powers. It came with the wings.” I said.

“Fantastic. They’re beautiful.”

I could tell that she genuinely meant that. She wasn’t fascinated by just the wings. She was fascinated by me. By what had made me, but not on the physicality of what was inside of me. It was different. It was what I needed at that time in my life. She singlehandedly was able to remind me of the good in humanity. Not everyone was a part of that company. Not everyone would see mutants tortured and killed. I knew that that was true because _she_ existed. Monica was real. She was looking at me with childlike wonder. She was what the rest of the world needed to see. What we needed to have. What I needed.

I stayed with her. I knew that I had wanted to go home, but I couldn’t. I would only have confused them. There would be too many questions that I couldn’t answer. Too many things that I wouldn’t be able tell them because of the reality of it all. I had to resign myself to this. Life with Monica wasn’t bad. It was good. It was good for me. She was able to help me work through some of what they had done to me. I found myself having nightmares. She was there to speak with me about them. She held my hand as they got worse and took care of me. Because of where her house was located, I was able to fly freely whenever I wished. It was a good life. It was my life.

I took Monica’s last name as my own. I became Sky Weller. I caught up on my education, getting through calculus in a few months. I spent my free time reading and writing when I could. My nightmares never really went away, but they slowly became more bearable. I stopped thinking about what I had lost and started thinking about the things that I had gained. A friend. Freedom. A home. All the things I had lacked for eight years, Monica was able to give to me. I truly loved her.

Which is why it only made sense that I lost her.

Monica and I spent one year together. My hair had grown back to a decent length. I preferred to keep it short so it wouldn’t fly into my eyes when I was flying. Monica spent her days writing stories. They were wonderful. I loved them all. My favourite was about a guardian angel who fell from the sky.

A full year, before everything went to hell. 

It started when I accidentally bumped into a young woman in the supermarket. I wasn’t in the habit of going into public very often. I wasn’t a fan of the large crowds. They made me think of that facility and took me back to the darker times. Still, I occasionally left with Monica, mostly to bother her while she tried to stop. This particular trip was the beginning of the end. I was walking along side Monica when a woman dressed in white stepped in front of me. I didn’t see her and I ran into her. We were both okay, but there was something… _off_ about her. I couldn’t describe it if I tried. She smiled pleasantly at me and apologised before I could and walked away. I found myself watching her as she left. I wanted to know who she was, but not enough to follow her. I shook it off as another random encounter. Something that had no consequences. Another face in the crowd.

Monica and I went home that day, like we always did after outings. I could feel that something was wrong. I knew before she even put the lock in the key. I couldn’t explain it. I knew that I would never be able to. This wasn’t a mutation, not in the sense that we thought of the word now. It was just instinct. I grabbed her hand to stop her. She had known me long enough to know that I was not usually wrong about these things. She took a step behind me while I pushed open the door to reveal a line of four people, including the woman from the store. She didn’t seem to be the leader. No, it was the man in the centre who looked to be in charge. He was wearing a suit with a dark red shirt and an ascot.

I could see the look in his eyes. I could see that cold curiosity I had gotten to know so well. I kept Monica behind me. These weren’t scientists. The man was smiling to much. Well, there was that and the devil on the far right to give it away. That man was also wearing a suit, just as nice as the leader’s. He was flicking his tail impatiently. I wanted desperately to be away from here. I looked at the window. Would I be able to escape? No. Not without catching the sharp of the red man’s tail.

“She’s thinking about escaping.” The woman said.

Telepathy? Wonderful. Just another thing to worry about.

“Well, of course she is. We’re intruders in her home. I would be more worried if she was greeting us with a warm welcome.” The man said.

I wasn’t sure how to feel about these people. They didn’t seem to wish any harm on me, but the way they were looking at Monica… I didn’t like it. She was the odd man out here. These were mutants.

“I’ll give you this, she’s certainly more intelligent than the last one. She’s already figured out what we are.”

I was not a fan of this telepath. She smirked at me.

“Sky, my name in Sebastian Shaw. These are my associates, Emma Frost, Azazel, and Janos. We call him Riptide. I have had my eye on you for a long time. Impressive work at the facility. That was when I first heard of your name. I have been looking for you.”

“I don’t really care who you are. I of course mean no disrespect, Mr. Shaw, but I have no interest in leaving here.” I said confidently.

“I didn’t think that you would. After all, you have to freedom to do what you wish.” He gestured to a picture Monica had taken of me while I was flying. It was one of the few pictures on the wall.

I glanced back at her. She was terrified. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have a twinge of fear myself. I was trying my best to remain calm for her. I didn’t know these people, but I knew the type of people they were. He was too much like the people that had cut me open. He was focused on what he could gain. I could see that clearly. Men like him all looked the same. They acted the same and had the same posture. I would not leave with them. That would have been foolish of me to even consider it. I would be throwing myself back into a situation where I had no freedom.

“I think I can guess what you’re thinking. You see, I’ve done some research into your past. I went to that facility. Ah, don’t worry. It’s nothing but ash by now. I couldn’t let them remain, knowing what they enjoy doing to our kind. You’re thinking that I would take away your freedom, the way that they did.”

“Mine or someone else’s.” I said quietly.

“I would grant you the freedom to walk down the street without fear of detection that would result in your ultimate demise. I would take away the fear those men planted into your heart. We are mutants. We’re humanity’s next step. Genetic mutation is the future. And people like her have no place in our new world.”

He gestured to Monica. I glanced back again. I wouldn’t let them do anything to harm her. Emma glared at me. I had never really been in a fight, other than a brief encounter with one of the guards, years ago, but I would die to protect her. She was my family. 

“All you have to do is say that you’ll join us.”

“What would you do to her?”

“Kill her.”

At least he was honest. 

But I wasn’t going to let that happen. I turned and grabbed Monica, unfurling my wings. I could hear Shaw barking orders at his man. I jumped through the window and took to the air. I had never flown while holding onto someone before. It wasn’t fun. Especially not when Azazel appeared before me. He grabbed onto Monica and tried to teleport away. He dragged both of us with him. He resorted to something different after that. He used his tail to stab Monica in the back. 

No.

She exclaimed in pain and Azazel was gone. I held Monica closely in my arms. I could see Shaw and the others below, watching me.

No. Not Monica. Please, _not Monica._

I found a quiet place to land in the woods, far away from the house. By the time that I was on the ground, she was only barely holding on. I tried my best. I tried to save her.

But I failed.

He killed her. Shaw had ordered her death. Did he think that losing her would make me want to join his cause? It had only assured that I would track him down. He had had no right to make that call. It had never been his to make and it never would be. 

I buried Monica in the woods, where she had always wanted to be buried. I made a makeshift headstone for her. There was no use in telling anyone. Neither of us had any family. There was no one but me to care that she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, Sky can just _not_ catch a break, amiright?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because why not?

It was four months into my search. There was still no sign of Shaw anywhere. I had managed to track down George, the man from the facility that could control the earth around him. He had helped me for a short while, but I eventually went back to being on my own. It was better that way. It seemed that the people I grew close to only got hurt in the end. We still kept in touch. I’d get a call every now and again, when he knew where I was. Sometimes he had a lead, sometimes he was just making sure that I was still alive. I appreciated it, even if I wasn’t good at showing it. I wouldn’t give up. I refused to. I would make sure that Shaw paid for what he had done. What they had all done.

That was what I was living for. It was all that I had.

I stared up at the hotel ceiling. I was lucky that Monica had come from a family of money, as strange as that sounded. That was how she was able to live alone. Her family had died years earlier, when she was a teenager. All of that had gone to me once she had died. I was the closest thing she had to a family. She was my family. There was no other explanation. Not for this. Not for the pain that her memory caused me. I had thought that the memory would dull the pain. How could I have been so wrong about that? I took a deep breath. This was all that I could do. I turned onto my side and looked at the wall. It was full of all that I knew about Shaw. It was giving me a headache. I turned and looked outside of the window. The sun was just beginning to rise. Another sleepless night. After Monica died, my nightmares had continued to get worse until I could hardly bare to sleep.

Coffee was my new best friend.

I slowly sat up and gathered my things. This was my last day here. This lead had turned out to be a dead end. I wasn’t entirely sure what I had been expecting. I would call George to let him know that I was headed to the next place. That was all that I could do for now, at least until we found anything that could lead me to Shaw. Just one lead. That was all that I needed. Just one to get me on the right path. I pulled on a button down and some jeans. It wasn’t the best outfit I had ever worn, but I didn’t care what other people thought of me. I had a job to do. I pulled on an old blazer. There were two holes in the back of most of my shirts, just in case I had to make a surprise get away through the air.

It was as good a system as any. 

I had a car that was going to be coming to the front of the hotel later in the day and one of the bellhops was going to take my things down for me. I had some time to walk around.

My most recent dead end had taken me to London, England. It was somewhere that I had always wanted to go. I hadn’t really gotten a chance to look around. It would be my consolation prize. I was hoping that I would be able to get my mind off of all of the things that were plaguing me. Maybe give me a good night’s rest for once. Wouldn’t that be something? I sighed and left my room, making sure that the door locked behind me before walking down the pristine white hallways. I was greeted by a few of the other guests and some of the staff. I acknowledged them with a polite nod. There was well and truly nothing else for me to do, unfortunately. I didn’t know these people and I had no intention of learning about them now. I never stayed anywhere long enough to really know anyone. I was afraid of getting close to someone. I thought that it would end badly for me and it probably would, if I wasn’t careful like I was. I walked outside and was shocked by the cold air. It was unusual for this time of year.

I looked out at the morning crowd. It was men in suits, carrying briefcases while they walked to work. Women going into shops with their friends. They all had their own business. I was just another person they would walk by on their way, and they were just people that I saw while I was visiting. I turned left and started walking. Maybe I would buy something before I left. To remember that I had come here, even if the trip was a failure. I sighed. I didn’t know what I was doing here. I had a purpose. I was procrastinating by staying here. That wasn’t helping anyone. That wasn’t helping me.

I shook my head. I had time to kill. I had to do something.

I froze.

There was someone following me.

I hadn’t been paying much attention before, but there they were. Still there. I stopped in front of a store window and stole a glance. It was a man, earlier twenties. He was wearing a fedora and keeping me within his peripheral. I continued walking. At least I knew it wasn’t Shaw. It could have been one of his lackeys. There was no way to know for sure. I just knew that I had to get out of the public’s view, just in case this did turn into a fight. I didn’t want innocent people to get hurt. I turned a corner. I had just enough knowledge about the layout of the city to get us out into a place with less population. Another corner. He was relentless. And getting closer. One more and-

I felt his hand wrap around my arm. I was thrown against a wall in the alley, my back hitting the bricks hard. It would have knocked the breath away from someone else. I like to think that my wings added a little extra padding. His other arm went to my throat and I got my first real look at him.

He was attractive, but that wasn’t really what I was focused on in that moment. His blue-green eyes met mine. There was an anger there. A fury unlike anything else. I had seen those eyes. A light grey version, but those eyes all the same. Every time that I looked in the mirror, they were there. Those were my eyes after Monica died. He was looking for revenge. I instantly started to go over all of the people I had screwed over in the last nine years. Other than the people at that facility, but I doubted that he was from there. There was something familiar about him. 

“Why are you looking for Schmidt?” He asked me with a dark tone.

“Who the hell is Schmidt?” I asked, coughing to get the air out.

“Shaw!”

“Oh. Well, that depends on who’s asking.” 

“Not someone that you want to undermine.”

He took his arm off and raised his hand. The necklace around my neck lifted until it reached my throat, making it even harder to breathe. It didn’t seem like he was letting up. I could only think of one option. An option that was the reason I had led him here. I unfurled my wings. He looked at me in shock. I grabbed his shoulder and shot up into the air as quickly as I could. He grasped onto me, trying not to slid down against the smooth cloth on my arms. I had ruined my blazer. Worth it for his facial expression. 

“As you can see, neither am I.” I said against the wind.

I lowered myself to the ground, letting him fall off to the ground when we were only a few feet up. I hide my wings once more and pulled off my jacket. It was in tatters. I sighed and dropped it in the alley.

“You… you’re like me?” He said softly.

“I suppose, in a way, I am.” I responded.

“I thought I was alone.”

I shook my head. “There are hundreds more like us out there. I’ve met them. They aren’t all bad. Some pretty interesting mutations.”

“Why are you looking for Shaw?” He asked again, much kinder than before.

There was really nothing like using my mutation to get people to see that their way wasn’t the only way.

“He killed someone close to me. I’m not going to let him get away with that.” I closed my eyes and saw Monica’s face. I shook my head. “What about you? You seemed ready to kill me if I didn’t give you what you wanted.”

“The same.” He said.

“My name is Sky Weller.”

“Erik Lehnsherr.”

“Well, since it seems that we have a similar goal that neither of us are actually close to reaching, what do you say we work together? Just until we find him.”

“I don’t know.”

“Two people are better than one. It will be easier to find him _and_ fight him if we have to, which we probably will.”

“Fine. Just until we find him. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

Erik was the first person that I allowed myself to tell about Monica. Not even George knew about her. I had told Erik about Shaw killing her to get him to trust me. He and I had many similarities, even if they were subtle. I truly believed he could help me find Shaw faster. I didn’t know what he intended to do, and nor did I really care. At the time, none of it mattered. There was no time for it to matter. We made an agreement. He took me to his hotel room. I wasn’t shocked at what I saw there. Very similarly to me, he had a wall dedicated to everything that he knew about Shaw. Or Schmidt, as some of his notes called him. He had clearly been looking for a much longer time. There was even an old drawing of him.

“How long have you been looking for him?” I asked.

“Years. And this is as far as I’ve gotten. That’s why I was so adamant to find you.” Erik answered.

“How did you know I was looking?”

“One of the valets overheard you on the phone at the front desk. His name came up. You were the only lead that I had here. Now, I’m at another dead end.”

“I can understand your frustration.” I sighed. “I’ve only been searching for a few months and I’ve had more than my fair share.”

“You got closer in a few months than I have in a year. How?”

“Someone I know has connections. He’s another mutant. He controls the earth and can sense these sort of… vibrations. Echoes of where people have been, given that he knows their, well, let’s call them signatures.”

“And he’s met Shaw?”

“Not exactly. Mutants function differently than humans and that can be shown in the earth. Shaw is more powerful than most. That’s how we’ve been tracking him so far, but he can only detect traces, so it’s not the most accurate system.”

“That’s impressive.”

“Yeah, yeah, it is. So, did you find anyone other than me here? Anyone at all?”

“There’s a man who used to work in one of the… the camps. He would be able to give us more information, in theory.”

“Well, most of life in theories. Seems like as good a plan as any.”

“I’m not-”

“What happened to the man who was ready to kill me if I didn’t give him information? Come on. Except let’s forgo the killing part, shall we?”

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Thus began our unlikely alliance. I didn’t know how long I was going to have to be with him. It wasn’t that bad. He and I got along well enough, anyway. We didn’t really talk about our pasts, which worked for me. I didn’t want to talk about Monica.

I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone even actually like this story? Meh. Whatever. I like it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the story continues.

_I was stuck in a cage again. Monica was watching me from outside, a cold curiosity masking her face. She stuck a needle into my arm, rendering me helpless as she pulled me out of the cage and onto a cold metal table. I couldn’t move. My wings were stuck. She took a scalpel and cut along my chest. It wasn’t healing. My healing factor was gone. I could feel everything that she was doing to me. I couldn’t scream or even make a sound. There was nothing I could do. She stepped away from me, her hands red with blood. She coughed and blood spilled onto her shirt. Onto her chest. A gaping hole appeared and I regained the ability to move. I held her in my arms as she died once more._

I woke up with a start, my breathing quick and unsteady. Erik was already awake, sitting at the desk. He turned to face me. He didn’t seem surprised to see me in this state. I had had nightmares before when I was around him, but never like that one. Never so… real. Erik set his drink aside and walked over to me. He sat next to me on the bed, pulling me to rest against his chest. He sang softly in German. I listened to his voice and felt the beat of his heart against my cheek. It calmed me down. He held onto me for a moment longer before walking away and pouring me a glass of scotch. I took it gratefully. Erik sat across from me.

“Your nightmares have been getting worse, haven’t they?” He said softly.

“Yeah.” Was all I could really manage to get out.

Erik and I had been working together for almost a year now. It was 1962. My hands were shaking. The nightmares had never been this bad before. They had never been this bad… I shivered. I needed to talk about something else. Anything else.

“Where did you learn that lullaby?” I asked him.

He had a faint smile across his lips. “My parents taught it to me, when I was a boy. Before the war.”

That was right. I had seen the number on his arm once. He had only told me a little about it. I had never really asked. It didn’t seem like it was my place.

“It calmed me down after I had a nightmare.”

“I’ve found that alcohol helps too.” I joked.

“That it does.” He finished off his drink. “Would you like to talk about it? It might help stop future nightmares.”

“Monica. She took me in after my escape. Shaw killed her.”

“He killed my mother.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

I reached to the bedside table and pulled out a faded paper. The title was still clear, despite the amount of times that I had pulled it out for this very purpose. This was all that I had left of her. One short story that I didn’t even have a copy of. If anything happened to this, I would lose my one and only connection to Monica Weller.

“What is that?” Erik asked. “I’ve seen you with it several times.”

“Monica was a writer, of sorts. This was one of the last short stories she ever wrote. It’s about an angel who falls into the woods and is taken in by a weary traveller. She may have been, erm, _inspired_ by some real life events.” I smiled. “It was all that I took from her. I didn’t go back to the house, once she died. I was afraid that Shaw would still be there. This was what she had on her at the time.”

“I’m sorry that you had to see that happen.” Erik said. He sounded genuine. He took my hand for a moment. “He won’t get away with it. I promise you that.”

* * *

“Thank you for the information.” Erik said, using his powers to remove the metal collar on the man’s neck. 

I watched as the man slumped to the floor, barely conscious. Usually just showing my wings was enough for them to start spilling their guts, but sometimes, we had to resort to Erik’s methods. I personally wasn’t a fan of his techniques. He really didn’t care who it was, as long as they could get him closer to Shaw. He grabbed the gold bar on the desk. Even from here, I could see the Nazi symbol on the top. He held onto it, staring at the metal in his hands. It was like he was thinking of all of the things that had happened to make that bar a reality. All of the people that had suffered. Erik shook his head and started to walk.

“Geneva. The bank.” He said.

“I know. I could hear him too, you know.” I sighed. 

“Then why are we still here? The next train leaves in an hour.”

I sighed again. This was the closest we had gotten in all of this time. Last night, I had seen a different side of Erik. It was so different that I had almost forgotten this part of him existed, even after all of the time that we spent together. I didn’t like his technique, but I could at least keep him from killing people, which as far as I could tell was an improvement of what his life had been. Erik put the gold bar into his pocket and we walked back to the hotel room. The trip to Geneva wouldn’t be fun, I could see that now. The closer we got to Shaw, the more irritable he became. I couldn’t blame him. Sebastian Shaw had killed Erik’s mother in a time that was already dark. Losing Monica couldn’t even compare to losing a parent. Erik had every reason to hate Shaw. He had every reason to need this to be over as soon as possible.

I trailed behind Erik until we reached our hotel room. He immediately started to pack up, pulling down the papers on the wall. I resigned myself to packing my own things. When Erik got inside of his own head, it was impossible to pull him back out for any kind of intelligible conversation until he had worked through it on his own. He tossed one of my shirts to me. I folded it neatly and set it into the suitcase. Erik pulled the gold from his pocket and turned it in his hands thoughtfully. I took his hand. I had a feeling that he needed the physical connection to reality. He didn’t look at me.

“One step closer.” I said.

“One step.” He agreed.

We finished packing and walked to the train station. It didn’t look like we would be able to get a seat. It had been a stretch to get to the train that was now leaving in ten minutes. I closed my eyes. Something big. Something that would give us the sympathy of the woman selling tickets. I tapped my foot impatiently while I looked over her. Then it hit me. It was so obvious. 

“Erik, there’s only one way that we’re going to get a ticket on that train.” I said.

“And what would that be?”

“Hold on.” I pulled two zippers off of my bag. “Can you make these into rings?”

“Of course.”

“Then do it. Quickly, please.”

He grumbled, but eventually agreed. He handed them both to me. I placed one on his finger and one on my own.

“Congratulations, we’re newly weds. Shall we?”

I walked forward. He looked at his hand and sighed, resigning himself to following me. He knew that my plans worked. Most of the time. I would get us to where we needed to be. I walked up to the desk and slapped the biggest smile on my face that I could, taking Erik’s hand to keep him close to me.

“Hiya there!” I said. Erik looked at me incredulously. I dug my elbow into his side. “We’re the Michaelsons. Just got married and this one said he just had to go to Geneva.”

The woman smiled at me. “Congratulations! Well, we have a train to Geneva tomorrow morning.”

“We were kind of hoping that we would be able to go today. We had a bit of a late night.” Erik said, putting an arm around my waist.

He was embracing it. How wonderful. I hadn’t expected that. Erik kept me close to his chest, nuzzling my neck to sell it. He hadn’t shaved in a couple of days.

“Oh. Oh, of course! Well, there are a couple of seats left. Normally, we charge more for such late purchases, but I think we can make an exception just this once.” She winked at us.

And with that, we got our train tickets. I thanked the woman for her time and we ran to catch the train. I found a car that was empty for the two of us. We sat on either side of the cart. I took off the ring and handed it to Erik. He used his powers to float the two rings in the air for a moment. He put them in his pocket.

“Newly weds. That was truly inspired, Sky.” Erik said. “How did you come up with it?”

“She had an engagement ring on her finger. Of course she would be sympathetic to a newly married couple.” I shrugged. “It seemed as good a plan as any.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t inspired by other thoughts?”

“Only in your dreams, Lehnsherr. Besides, you were far more into the ruse than I was.”

He chuckled. “Maybe I’m a better actor than you know.”

“Doubtful.”

It was nice to have someone that I could make easy banter with. People like that were hard to come by. I believed that Erik was my friend. I think he had been since that first day. I had seen it in his eyes, the way that they changed when he realised that I was a mutant, too. He realised that he wasn’t alone and that there were people like him. I had known that for a long time, but even then, I rarely got the chance to speak with any, let alone a person who had gone through anything similar to me. That was what made him different. He put on a hard exterior to the world, but I could see that there was a much softer side that he wanted to keep shielded so no one would hurt him again. You couldn’t lose someone if you had no one.

I looked out the window. We were on our way to Geneva. We were on our way to Shaw. The last year had gone by so quickly. Had it really been a year since that day? I thought back. What had been different about that day? In my mind, I pictured it was raining, but the reality was that it was just like any other day. The sun was up, the air was particularly hot or cold… the only thing that made it stand out, other than the obvious, was that I decided to leave the house with her that day.

I had more than once wondered what would have changed if she had gone to the store alone that day. Would the four of them have just come back to the house? Would I have died in her place? Maybe that would have been better. She would have been able to move on. I had lost so many people and spent so long stuck in a reluctant silence that I couldn’t find it within myself. I found myself thinking about her smile. She never wore lipstick. Monica wore other types of makeup, but her lips were a natural coral colour. She never needed it. And when she smiled, she smiled with her whole face. I closed my eyes and sighed. 

I had to force myself to picture those things, otherwise I could only see her last moments. I didn’t want to remember her that way. 

Broken. Not when she was the piece that had managed to make me whole again. It wasn’t fair to her memory. I was the only one keeping it alive. I would always be the only one keeping it alive. I kept that in mind everyday. I wouldn’t let Shaw be a part of that memory anymore. I didn’t know what I would do once I finally caught up with him, but I knew it wouldn’t be pleasant, for either of us. 

Her blue eyes morphed into greenish grey. 

_John._

I had found articles with his name. I saw him on the news. He hadn’t changed. Not really. I was proud of him. There had been a time, in the first two months after Monica died, when I wanted to go and see him. I knew that it would be wrong of me. There would be too many questions that I couldn’t answer. Questions that my family wouldn’t be able to answer. It would be far better for me to stay away from them all. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. I saw Erik looking at me thoughtfully. 

“You were thinking about her.” He said softly, sympathetically.

“Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It really is only 18 chapters long. When I write stories that follow movies, they tend to be very short. Just take a look at Exile. 20 chapters. Woah. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus the saga of Erik and Sky continues with the fifth installment! Woo! Do you enjoy the story so far?

Geneva. We found a hotel room at a decent rate. I set my bag on one side of the room and let out a deep sigh. I don’t know how many hours we spent on that train. I knew that most of them had been spent in silence. It was all enough for me to feel exhausted despite the fact I had slept at some point during the trip. Erik started to give the room our usual set up and I decided to take a shower. Just to feel refreshed and help wake me up without the assistance of coffee or tea. I closed the door of the bathroom and walked to the mirror.

I had changed so much since my powers had revealed themselves. In 1951, my dark brown hair had been long. Sure, I pulled it back most days, but it still reached to the middle of my back. The doctors had shaved it. Over the last two years, it had grown back, but I kept it much shorter now. My bangs fell over my forehead and into my right eye. My eyes had been a lot brighter in colour. Their blue colour had faded to grey over time. I imagined it was because of the time the scientists had blinded me to see if my eyes would heal. I couldn’t see for two days. I pushed my hair behind my ear. 

I shook my head. I hadn’t come in here to appraise my features. I turned on the shower and waited for the water to get hot. I stepped under the steady stream.

I winced as it hit my back, running down my scars. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to get used to it. I rested my forehead against the shower wall. I felt the coldness of the surface against the heat of the water. I wasn’t a fan of being alone, in any circumstance. It allowed dark thoughts to enter my mind. Thoughts that I couldn’t that I had. Thoughts of killing Shaw. Using my wings and strength to carry him high into the air and then just letting go. Watching him fall, helpless to stop his fate. Hearing his bones crack when he finally made contact with the ground. Watching his blood form patterns in the pavement’s imperfections. Why shouldn’t I have wanted to do that? It would solve so many problems.

But it would be wrong. The thoughts made me scared of myself. It made me believe that I was the monster that _they_ believed that I was. I pushed away from the wall and turned off the water. I pulled a white robe around myself and wiped the fog from the mirror. I would _not_ turn into a killer. If I did that, I would truly be no better than Shaw and his lackeys. I would be giving up all of the goodness that Monica had seen in me and admitting that mutants were bad. That wasn’t right, for anyone. I hoped that I could one day show Erik that path. I knew that we had said that once we found Shaw, we would go our separate ways, but I liked to think that we had become friends after all of this time.

I used a towel to dry my hair as I walked out of the bathroom. Erik was sitting on one of the beds, moving a metal coin through his fingers. He looked like he was deep in thought. As I took a step forward, the coin shot through the air. I could feel the air move by my cheek. I looked at the wall. He had launched a coin into the picture of Shaw he had. I took a breath to calm myself and shook my head. He looked over at me.

“Well, you certainly look better.” He said,

“Thanks, I guess.” I chuckled. “You’ve been busy.”

“The bank opens soon.”

“That it does. Shall I come with you on this little excursion?”

“Can you speak french?”

“Oui, je parle un peu du Français.”

“Then I see no reason why you shouldn’t. As long as you can stomach my methods.”

“What are you intending to do?”

“I won’t kill him, if that’s what you’re asking. But he was one of the many reasons my people suffered so much. He can’t get away with that.”

I glanced at the number on his arm. 214782. Forever he was branded with that memory. My hand reached to my back, gently touching the scars there. I wondered how many he had been inflicted with. I shook my head.

“And you’re taking it upon yourself?”

“If not me, then who?”

“Does that make you some sort of a vigilante?”

“I’m not a vigilante. I’m just looking for a monster hiding amongst other monster.”

And that was that. He didn’t say anymore and I didn’t ask him to. I prepared myself for our little trip to the bank by putting on a navy blue dress. I wasn’t a fan of dresses, but I didn’t completely despise them either. I could wear one when I needed to. There would be no using my wings in this. There were no slits in the back. Erik changed into a grey three piece suit. He looked good. I would even go so far as to say he looked handsome. I mean, he was always handsome. Not that I had been looking or anything. It was just a little obvious. Anyway, moving on. I stepped forward and straightened his tie, a habit I had picked up as a child when watching my mother and father.

“Still playing the part of the dutiful wife, I see.” Erik mused.

“And you’re still being an ass.” I responded.

“Only to you.”

“Because I’m the only person you talk to.”

“You’re the only person I want to talk to.”

“Aw, how sweet. C’mon, let’s go. I made an appointment while you were getting ready with the man you mentioned. You know, you really do break that old stereotype that it takes a woman longer to get ready than a man. I thank you for that. Congratulations.”

“It’s my favourite pass time.”

“Well, I think it’s high time to find a new one. We have to leave now if we’re going to make it in time.”

“Of course, dear.” 

He winked. I hit his shoulder. I didn’t know how he could joke around so easily with what he was planning on doing. It baffled me how easily he could go from dark and brooding to joyous and playful. What was his secret? Could I learn how to be like that under his careful tutelage? I smiled and shook my head once more. I was always so serious. I tried not to be, but it didn’t really work out for me.

Erik held out his arm. I took it in my own and we started to walk out of the hotel. People were scattered across the sidewalk. It seemed like they all had places to be. Maybe that was just my own sense of urgency projecting onto them. Erik kept us both moving at a brisk pace. He was even more desperate to get there than I was. I knew why. It was the same reason he was always anxious. I didn’t say anything. I did manage to keep up with him, though, which I was very proud of. I didn’t want him to accidentally rip my arm off. Something told me that I wouldn’t be able to heal from that. When we reached the bank, Erik stopped and looked up at the great wooden doors. It was my turn to lead him. We walked up the steps and he pulled the doors open. We walked across the marble floor.

A young secretary looked up at us. I told her about her appointment. She made a big show about checking the calendar, as if it was a major inconvenience and not her job. I bounced back and forth on my feet impatiently. She found the name I had given her and allowed for us to enter. It wasn’t like she was a gatekeeper. There was no call for her to act that way. Erik and I sat down in front of the banker. He smiled pleasantly and gave us both a once over. He glanced at Erik but took his time looking over me, his hungry gaze resting on my legs for far longer than I was comfortable with. I readjusted myself. Erik didn’t look happy. He never did in these situations. 

Erik pulled the gold bar with the Nazi stamp from his briefcase and set it on the banker’s desk. The banker looked at us curiously.

Naturally, we all spoke in French, but I think that for the purposes of this narrative, I will spare you the arduous task of searching for a translation by recounting the tale in English.

“The possession of this gold is illegal.” The banker said, looking from Erik to me again, his eyes still lingering. “I should inform the police.”

“But you won’t.” I said confidently.

“And why is that?”

“Because we got this from a friend who recommended _your_ bank most highly.” Erik responded.

“All right then. I take it you know our terms?”

“Yes. And you should know ours.” He pushed the gold forward on the desk. “This is the last of what remains of my people.”

I could see the man’s eyes fall as he regarded us. His easy smile fell. At least he wasn’t staring at me anymore.

“Melted from their possessions. Torn from their teeth.”

Erik was getting angry. The man reached for an alarm on his desk. Erik used the watch the man was wearing to stop him. He clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Don’t touch that alarm. I want Schmidt. Klaus Schmidt.”

“Our clients don’t provide addresses. We’re not-”

“Not that sort of bank?” Erik stood, holding his hand forward. The banker grunted in pain. What exactly was Erik doing? “Metal fillings, eh? Not gold? Afraid that someone might steal them?!”

Well, this wasn’t good.

“Argentina! Schmidt is in Argentina! Villa Gesell! Please!”

Erik didn’t stop. He needed to stop. We had what we needed. I touched his arm. He let the man go, albeit reluctantly. The banker clutching his jaw where his filling was. He was looking at Erik and I like we were monsters. Maybe we were.   
No. No, we weren’t.

“Thank you. I would love to kill you,” I shoot him an angry look that he clearly ignored, “so mark my words: if you warn anyone that I am coming, I will find you.”

I was jumping the gun on these conclusions, evidently.

Erik and I walked out of the bank. The man didn’t set of the alarm. Erik was very good at intimidation. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t really know what to say. I considered it fortunate that Erik had left the man alive at all. I knew what he was capable of. It was a part of who he was and I had come to acknowledge that. I knew that that man had been a terrible person. He was a part of the society that had tortured and persecuted Erik’s people. He had been okay with that happening around him. Hell, he had probably participated. I just didn’t want to see Erik turn into one of them and the closer we got to finding Shaw, the more of that I saw in him. It scared me. I didn’t think that he could see it. 

What if I lost him too?

I was determined not to lose another person that I cared about. Erik was my friend and I liked to think that I was his too. He probably wouldn’t have kept me around this long if I wasn’t. Still. He looked straight ahead.

“Argentina. Who would have thought that it was as simple as that?” Erik said.

“I wouldn’t exactly call what happened in there simple, Erik. What would have happened if I wasn’t there?” I asked. “Would you have killed him?”

“And what if I had killed him? Would that be such a terrible thing?”

“It’s not that simple, Erik. Killing is wrong and-”

“And yet he killed thousands, Sky. Why should I treat him any differently?”

“Because if you don’t, then you’re no better than he is. Than any of them.”

“They created me. Why shouldn’t I be like them? Why shouldn’t I be Frankenstein’s monster?”

“He was only a monster because he was alone and his creator rejected him. You’re not alone, Erik.”

“I’ve always been alone.”

“Yeah, well, now you have me. You’re not alone anymore. I won’t let you be alone again, I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

He turned to look at me. I wanted him to know how serious I was. I really wouldn’t let him be alone. He deserved more than that. I had seen the goodness inside of him, more than once. Erik was a good person. He had just had a bad life and no one to show him that there was a better way. I hoped that it wasn’t too late for me to show him that way. I took his hand and we walked through Geneva back to our hotel room. One day, I knew that he would stop this. He would be the person I knew he could be, if he just tried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 to come later on today, friends.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus they continue on their journey to find Shaw.

I leaned back against the wall. Erik was almost finished packing. Since we had spoken outside of the bank, he hadn’t said another word. He was again deep in thought. I thought about trying to change the subject, but I couldn’t think of what to say to him. I had already said the one thing that had been on my mind for weeks. I was hoping that it had gotten through to him, or that it had at least given him something to think about. He was a good man, I knew it. He just needed to see it himself. I would be to him what Monica was to me. I would show him the good parts of the world. 

I knew that it wasn’t just people like the banker that he hated. It was also the humans. He believed that they were all like that. And who was I to blame him? Hadn’t I thought the same thing for eight years? I had nothing else to go off of. I wasn’t even sure that my own family would have accepted me once they knew the truth. I had even doubted John. I had no reason to believe that he hadn’t hated me once he knew. After all, my wings had expanded when I was falling from that tree. He must have seen them. He knew. I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to be thinking about him. Not right now. I had more important things to worry about, such as what we were going to do once we were in Argentina. I pushed myself off of the wall and finished packing all of my things.

“Are you ready?” I asked.

“Let’s go.” He responded.

Erik never took a second look at that hotel. There were some things that he didn’t want to remember. I could understand why this would be one of them. I was prepared to deal with whatever mood Erik was in today. We walked into the airport. Erik went to buy our tickets and I waited patiently for him to come back. We checked our bags and boarded the plane. I sat in the seat by the window. I looked outside. I started to wring my hands. I didn’t like this. I felt like I was in a cage again. Erik looked at me curiously.

“What’s wrong, Sky? You’ve turned rather pale.” He asked.

“Planes. I don’t really like planes.” I said. “I prefer the open air.” I added quietly.

“I’ve never seen you in a plane. I forgot about that.” Erik took my hand. 

“It’s not a great time for me. But I’ll be fine. Just give me a minute.”

“You need the open air.”

“No, no, it’s fine. Just 22 hours, right? I couldn’t fly that long anyway. This is a quicker option.” 

Erik looked around for a moment and then held out his hand. A few pieces of metal flew into his palm. He put his other hand on top. A moment later, he opened them. There was a small set of metal wings in his palm.

“To help give you some comfort.” He shrugged.

“Thank you, Erik.”

I held onto the wings so tightly that there were tiny cuts in my palms. Erik tried a few more times to calm me down more. It was the alcohol that he ordered that really helped my nerves. I just leaned back into the plush seats and thought happy thoughts. Like actually flying on my own, with the wind in my feathers. I let out a shaky breath. Erik put his hand on my leg to keep it from shaking. He tried his best. I had to give him that. There wouldn’t be anything that could calm me down from this, but I knew it was our only way to Argentina. I wouldn’t have been able to carry Erik all that way, despite the strength that I had. I barely would have been able to make it myself. It would be almost a day of flying. I hadn’t tested my limits, not really, but I had been able to stay in the air for several hours. I didn’t know exactly how many, but it had been a long time, I knew that much.

I couldn’t wait to get off of that plane. I spent a little time sleeping, although most of it was spent taking deep breaths and thinking about my childhood before everything had gone to hell and the year with Monica before it all had gone to hell. I wondered sadly for a short time how long it would be before it all went to hell with Erik. That was about the time that I fell asleep. I had another nightmare that woke me up, but it still wasn’t as severe as the last one, and a few hours later, we landed in Buenos Aires. I was more than glad to get off of that plane and into the open air. Erik went to fetch our luggage. I looked up at the sky and wished that no one else was around. I had an urge to fly of my own accord. Naturally, it would have to wait. I needed to sleep before I could do anything and I would have to find a secluded part of the woods before I could do anything else.

Erik and I walked through the crowd and got yet another hotel room. There was no point in going into town today. It was late and we were both clearly very tired. If Shaw really _was_ at Villa Gesell, we would both be killed in this state. I looked at the metal wings Erik had given me. They were surprisingly intricate considering how quickly he had made them. I sat on the edge of one of the beds and put the wings in my pocket. I looked at my hands. I was grateful for my healing factor.

I pulled off my jacket and opened my wings. I was grateful for the space. I started to pull out some of the feathers falling out. Erik ran a hand across one of them. He had always been fascinated by my wings and I rarely showed them to him. 

“Exquisite.” He murmured.

“Yes, I’ve always thought so.” I pulled one of them around so I could reach the feathers at the very ends. “At least, they have been in recent years.”

Yes, several months of care had gone into returning the wings to their glossy state. Not only had those mutants in the facility suffered from horrible experiments, but we had been very poorly fed with food that was barely suitable for a dog. The lack of proper nutrition had done a number on my wings. I was genuinely surprised that I had been able to fly when I first broke out of that horrid place. Well, sort of. I had gotten farther than I should have before I very unceremoniously fallen almost literally into Monica’s lap. I sheathed my wings again and pulled on my jacket again. I was still holding one of my feathers. The light shone against the dark black. The tips of the feather were grey. It looked like it was outlined in the sun. I handed it to Erik.

“What’s this for?” 

“Well, we’re probably going to be parting ways soon. After all, the last year has been spent searching for him and this is the closest we’ve gotten. And we outlined this partnership very clearly.” What was I saying? Why was I saying it this way? That wasn’t what I really meant. Well, it was too late to change it now. “It’s something to remember me by.”

Why was I so awkward in these situations?

“Ah. Well, I will keep it close to remember the woman who helped me get what I wanted.” He gave a small smile.

That wasn’t what I had really wanted to say. Why had I said it that way? I fell back against the bed, resting against the pillows. I let out a sigh. I supposed that some of the important formative years for education had been taken away from me. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about it. I was not good at letting things go, especially when those things involved my own awkwardness. I hadn’t been given many opportunities, so I had never really had to deal with it before and _I was not enjoying it._ I wanted to find a wall to bang my head against. I didn’t want to leave Erik when this was done. I also may have had attachment issues due to my lack of connections in my teen years.

I fell asleep still thinking about what a fool I was.

* * *

I woke up from my usual dreams at a highly unusual time. I had somehow managed to get more than a few hours of sleep. Erik was already awake and ready for the day in a white button down tucked into his khaki pants. He was holding a fedora.

“Ah, you’ve woken up. I was just preparing to rouse you myself, but I thought after that rather stressful flight, you might want a bit more sleep than usual.” He said.

“How thoughtful of you. So,” I yawned, stretching the sleep from my limbs, “Villa Gesell. I’ll get ready to go.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Yeah, but I want to. You forget that I want to find him just as much as you do.”

“No, I haven’t forgotten. I just don’t want you to see something that you don’t want to see.”

“Like at the bank?”

“Yes, like at the bank.”

I sighed. “If that’s what you think you need to do to find Shaw, I don’t suppose that there’s anything I can do to stop you. Well, I suppose that I could take you really high into the air and let you go and see what would happen.”

“That would be fun for only one of us.”

“Don’t knock it until you try it, Erik.”

I chuckled. I took a few moments to get ready, dressing very similarly to Erik, opting for a pair of shorts instead of pants because of the heat. The walk through Villa Gesell would be quite long. I was wearing a pair of boots for hiking purposes. We walked together, again going with the honeymoon ruse, in case we needed it. It made sense at the time and it would explain why we were there, other than to possibly track down a murderer. I myself was not really sure how exactly to feel about the possibility of finding Shaw today. I had imagined it in so many different ways. I wondered which one would come to pass. 

We walked through the town. Schmidt was supposed to be here. He was supposed to have come here, at the least. I didn’t even know where to begin. Erik thought it would be best to go to a tavern and speak to the people there in a hopefully calm manner. At least, I wished that it would be calm. Generally he could be reasoned with, provided that someone was there to stop him from going too far. I would be there. For a little while longer, anyway. We spent over two hours searching before we got anywhere with our investigation. Someone told us about a tavern, not too far from the town, where some German men enjoyed spending their time. That was our best bet, if there was even anything to bet on at this point.

Erik and I made our way there. He pushed open the door and we made our way to the bar. He ordered a beer. I ordered a whiskey. I ignored the stares of the two men at the table. They engaged Erik in conversation.

Again, for the purposes of this story, I shall translate this dialogue into English, dear readers.

“It’s Bitburger. Do you like it?” One of the men asked. 

“The best.” Erik responded as he took a long sip.

“And your young friend? What is she having?”

“I’m having a whiskey. Beer isn’t strong enough for my tastes.”

“Ah, finally, a woman that can hold her liquor, even if she is from England.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I was really from Brookline, Massachusetts. 

“What brings the two of you to Argentina?” he asked us.

“Our honeymoon.” Erik said, taking my hand very protectively. “And you?”

“The hot climate. I’m a pig farmer.”

We all laughed. Erik gestured to the second man.

“Tailor. Ever since I was a boy. My father made the finest suits in Dusseldorf.”

Even I knew that Erik was from Dusseldorf. I watched as he walked over to their table and sat across from the pig farmer. He was smiling, but I could see the cruelty in his eyes. He was very good at doing that. It was almost impossible to tell unless you were looking for it. I held onto my glass tightly and poised myself for action. Shaw wasn’t here, clearly. Erik was clearly frustrated and was looking for someone to take that frustration out on.

“My parents were from Dusseldorf.”

“Really? What was their name?”

“They didn’t have a name.” Erik held up his glass. “It was taken by them. From Pig farmers,” he hit one glass, “and tailors.”

This was not going to go well. The two men exchanged a glance as they all drank deeply from their glasses. Erik turned his arm upside down to reveal the 6 numbers there. 214782. They all put down their glasses. The pig farmer pulled out a knife. I stood up from my stool. Erik took the knife from the man. He looked at the inscription on the blade and smiled wickedly.

“Blood and honour. Which would you care to shed first?” Erik asked.

The barman stood. He was holding a gun. I turned and spread my wings. He jumped back in surprise.

“We were under orders.” The pig farmer said confidently.

“Honour then.” Erik stabbed the man in the hand.

Well, he wasn’t dead.

The barman let off a shot. I felt the bullet land in my back, lodging in place. Erik turned around. His expression turned dark as I fell to the floor. I closed my eyes. Good times, having a healing factor with a bullet in my back. I could feel the wound closing around it. I hit the floor with my fist. Erik used his powers to force the barman to turn the gun on the tailor. The trigger was pulled. 

No.

I had failed to stop him from doing that. No no no! 

I tried to stand. That hurt. I stayed on the ground.

The barman was next. Erik stood and picked up the gun from the air. 

“Who are you? What are you?” The terrified pig farmer asked.

“Let’s just say I’m Frankenstein’s monster,” he turned to face a photo of Shaw standing on a boat, “and I’m looking for my creator.”

The pig farmer was dead.

Erik came over to me.

“Sky! Sky, I’m so sorry.” He said.

“I’ll be fine, as long as I get this bullet out of my back.”

“What?”

“Healing. I heal fast. Just help me get the bullet out before I pass out from the pain.”

He used his powers to pull the bullet from my back. I pushed myself up to my feet.

“Healing, eh? A year together and I still don’t know you, do I?”

“Apparently not.” I sighed. “You killed those men.”

“They attacked you. I thought that you were… nevermind. What’s done is done and it can’t be undone. We need to get to Florida. To the Caspartina.”

“To the Caspartina.” I agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And you should never question why they were able to find Shaw so easily because I have no words for the whole thing. And now Erik knows that Sky heals really fast. Yeah. Who knows if that will come into play later on in their story.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it continues again! I'm writing like crazy this week and it's great, friends.

Another plane, another trip to a place where Shaw was more than likely hiding, if we were lucky. I was praying for a little more luck on our side. I tried my best to forget what had happened at the tavern. Erik had behaved the way that he saw fit. It just wasn’t what should have happened, no matter the circumstances. I wasn’t sure, after seeing how easily he had done that, if he’d ever be able to change. I sighed. I couldn’t keep on thinking like that, not where he was concerned. I had to believe that he was a good person. He just had bad experiences. If I didn’t believe that, then I would just have to leave now. There would be no point in staying here with him. And I didn’t want to leave him.

We landed in the afternoon. Erik and I didn’t speak much and I had too much on my mind to worry about the flight and being trapped in a plane. We reached yet another hotel. This time, there was no dramatic unpacking or setting up our wall of Shaw’s locations. The Caspartina was here. We both knew that. There would be no point in setting it up. I sat on the bed as I always did and looked out the window. Florida was a nice place, I supposed. A year of searching had gotten us here. I closed my eyes. I could still see Erik using his powers to kill those men. I hadn’t been able to stop him. I sighed. I would have to do better next time. I would have to hope and pray that there would be a next time, but I knew that there would be. It didn’t take a superpower to know that.

“You should stay here.” Erik said. “I know how you feel about me killing people and I’m going to kill Schmidt.” 

“You can’t take him on your own.” I responded, standing.

“You underestimate me.”

“No, I see you in a realistic light, Erik, and I know what Shaw and his associates are capable of. They’re mutants, like us. We’re outnumbered 2-to-1. 4-to-1, if you go alone.”

“He’ll kill you.”

“He’ll kill _you.”_

“Then at least only one of us will die.”

“Don’t say that, Erik. You don’t mean that.”

“Don’t I? To die for you would be worth it.”

“Erik-”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry, Sky. Nothing bad will happen to me.”

“To us.”

“Right. To us.”

I wasn’t confident that he really meant that, but it wasn’t exactly like he could stop me from going. I had wings, after all. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the bed. We had to find out just where the Caspartina was. We had decided to go searching through the dock records. If he was here, he was docked, there was no doubt about it. It was just a matter of finding out which one. I had A-M and he had N-Z. Not that there were that many in either letters, but it was the thought that really mattered. About an hour in, I wanted to throw all my papers into the air and scream. But I somehow had the willpower to not do that. It really was a miracle. 

“I found it.” Erik said. “Caspartina. It’s been docked for a week.”

“And it’s still there?” 

“It’s not scheduled to leave until the morning.”

“Then we have no time to lose.”

“I’m sorry, Sky, but I can’t let you come with me.”

 

“Excuse me?”

“I can’t risk losing you too.”

“What are you-”

The metal in the room started to shake. Two rings attached to my wrists and stuck to the wall. I couldn’t get free! What the hell was he thinking?! Why was he doing this?

“This is the only way that I can protect you. I’m sorry.”

He left. He left me here attached to the wall! That… that ass! Where the hell did he get off?! I struggled against the metal bindings. He would die on his own! There was no way that Erik would leave me here completely defenseless if he thought that there was a chance he would die. I knew him better than that. I looked up at the metal cuffs. There was a tiny chink in both of them where they had been connected. Erik easily could have welded the two pieces together, but he didn’t. I was right. He wouldn’t have left me trapped like this. I just had to find a way out now. Something. 

It took a few hours to get out and my healing factor may or may not have played a part, but I got out. I looked at the metal cuffs on the wall. At least I had managed to get out in a relatively timely fashion. I rubbed my wrist. It was fully healed. I had to find out which dock they had gone to. Erik hadn’t told me. He must’ve known if I got out that I would follow him. I sifted through all of the papers on the floor. I had seen Erik make a mark next to the name. I just had to find that mark. I searched. I groaned in frustration. This was a waste of time! Honestly! He hadn’t taken it with him, had he? Dammit. Dammit! I kicked the papers.

Then I saw it. The mark! I reached out and grabbed the paper.

“Got it!” I smiled.

I looked out the window. It was dark. Surely I would be able to use my wings now to get to him before he did something he’d regret. No one would see me, and even if they did they would just say it was a bat or something else that flies. Hopefully. I pushed open the window and stood on the balcony. There was no one here now. A jump would do the trick hopefully.

I stood on the railing and held out my arms. I had always wondered what it would feel like to voluntarily fall off of a building from the fourth floor. I fell backwards and started to fall. It only took me a moment to remember why I was doing this. I opened my wings and let them catch the wind. You’d think it would be painful to do that, but it really wasn’t, not after the first couple of times. I got further into the air and looked out. It wasn’t that far to the Caspartina. I hoped. I had to find Erik before he faced Shaw. He would die on his own. I couldn’t let Shaw take another person from me! I wouldn’t!

I made my way to the dock. There it was! The Caspartina. But it was moving _away_ from the dock. Surely that wasn’t a good sign. There was another ship. It looked like the CIA was here. I supposed that that made sense, if they knew about mutants, then they would want to be a part of it, I was sure. But I didn’t have time to worry about them now. I needed to get to Erik. I made my way towards the Caspartina. And narrowly avoided getting hit by a metal chain. 

Erik! He was here! But where?

_I was wondering who his little friend was. He managed to keep that locked up tight._

Emma Frost. I should have known.

_Just as I should have known that it would be you._

Her presence was gone just as quickly as it had been there. I growled in frustration. Where was Erik? He was in the water and alive. He was alive. I stayed above the ground, watching sadly as Shaw and his henchmen got away. I couldn’t believe that I was letting this golden opportunity go to waste for him. He would owe me big time for this. I had to find him first. There! In the water. He was looking around. He hadn’t seen me yet. He held his hands above the water. It looked like he was straining to do something. What was he doing?

He disappeared under the water. No! Well, fuck! What was I going to do now?! I couldn’t see him anymore. I looked through the water. It was too dark to see him now that he was gone. I heard a splash. Erik? No. No, it was someone from the CIA ship. He was soon too far underwater as well. Was everyone going to just try and drown tonight? If so, maybe I would join them so I could kick Erik’s ass in the afterlife for dying on me like that. I stayed above the water. Did I have any other choice? I ignored the anxious beat of my heart.

There! They were both down there! I flew down. Would I be able to carry them both to the CIA ship? Well, there was only one way to find out. I grabbed them by the wrists. 

It wasn’t an experience I’d like to repeat.

I dropped Erik first, rather unceremoniously and I let the other man down softly. He started to speak, but I stopped him. I pulled Erik to his feet and kicked him the the chest.

“If you ever, _ever_ , leave me like that again, I will not hesitate to drop you from a very high place. Are we clear?” I said angrily. He nodded. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Yes, we’re clear!”

“Good.” I helped him to his feet again. I hugged him. He seemed a little shocked, but wrapped his arms around me. “I’m not losing you, too.” I took a deep breath and turned to the man from the water. “Sorry about that. My name is Sky.”

“Charles. Charles Xavier. This is my sister, Raven, and Agent Moira MacTaggert. It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Do you mind?” Charles gestured to my wings.

“No, not at all.”

“Marvellous. Absolutely marvelous.” He was giddy like a child.

Erik was standing behind me. I closed my wings.

“And they fully close. How convenient.”

“I’ve always thought so.”

Charles chuckled. “And you and Erik have been working together for almost a year?”

“So, either you can speak underwater or you’re a telepath. I’m going to guess telepath?”

“Yes, I am a telepath. We were hoping to find Shaw and we found you two instead.”

“I noticed.”

“We can talk about this more on the way.”

“On the way to where?”

“A CIA base. There, we will be able to discuss further what we’re going to do about Shaw.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Erik said.

Charles and Erik were handed towels and we all walked into a room below deck. Charles explained how he had been approached by Moira at Oxford after she had seen Emma and Azazel use their powers. They had found a lead on Shaw and immediately wanted to come and stop him. That took us up to speed. Erik and I only recounted a short part of our tale, avoiding the torture and some of the murder. I had a feeling that Charles already knew about all of that, as I more than once caught him glancing at me with pity in his eyes. I didn’t say anything about it and neither did he. Erik was busy drying out his hair.

“So, what’s your power, Raven? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.” I asked, turning to the young blonde.

“I’m a shapeshifter.” She changed into me. I laughed. She changed into another form. A blue woman. “And this is my true form.”

“It’s beautiful. Truly.” I smiled at her encouragingly. 

It seemed like she was self-conscious about this form. I supposed that I could understand why. People in this world weren’t always understanding about mutants that didn’t have a, how to put it delicately… “normal” appearance. I hoped that she would one day be able to walk around in this form without being afraid of what people would think of her. I knew there wasn’t much that I could do to help other than encourage her to believe that she didn’t have to be ashamed. Charles hid a smile. That wrapped up our discussion. I walked back outside and leaned against the railing of the ship. Charles was soon behind me.

“I just wanted to express my apologies for what Shaw has done to you. After all of the things that you have gone through, I’m surprised that you’ve kept such a positive outlook.” Charles said.

“Monica showed me a better life. That, and I’ve tried to keep my brother, John, in mind through this all.”

“You must be so proud of him.”

“He has managed to do so much… I can’t help but be proud of him. But I don’t really like to talk about him.” I looked out across the water.

“Because he’s the-”

“Because the last time he saw me, I was supposed to be dead. If I talk about him, then I’ll want to go see him again. Can you imagine the chaos that that could cause? No, it’s better to just continue with my life as it is.”

“I am truly sorry, Skylar. I am. I wish that people could see that mutants aren’t something to be afraid of. Or experimented on.”

“Yeah, well, that may be a pipe dream. All that we can really do is just try and make sure that we stop as much as the suffering as we can.”

“And that’s why you’ve stayed with Erik this long?”

“I suppose so. I hope that I can help ease his suffering one day if I can.”

He nodded in understanding. I hoped that he did, anyway. It really felt like he did, but maybe that was just his telepathic nature. 

“Perhaps you should tell _him_ that. From what I know about the two of you, he would greatly appreciate it.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about getting advice from a complete stranger, but at the same time he didn’t really feel like a stranger. A part of me felt like I had known him forever. Maybe that was just because he knew me. He knew me better than anyone, it seemed. Well, almost anyone. Charles gave me a pat on the back and walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts. A very dangerous place for me to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment if you enjoyed! :D


	8. Chapter 8

We were taken to a facility. In a plane. Have I expressed how much I despise planes? Even if it was a fancy private jet. Erik sat next to me. I thought about what Charles had said to me. I thought that I had given him enough of a hint about how much I cared for him, but maybe I was wrong about that. I rested against his shoulder and he didn’t protest. I thought more about what Charles had said. Would it really be so far fetched to tell him and expect, well, something? I shook my head and moved to lean against the window. I was behaving like a high schooler. This was ridiculous. Erik looked at me curiously but didn’t say anything. Neither of us ever said anything, not when it came to things like this. That just didn’t seem right. Maybe it wasn’t. Maybe I was destined to stay silent for the rest of my life. Who knew?

Charles, probably.

I chuckled at my private joke. Was Charles smiling? He nodded. Damn his telepathy. He struggled to hide another chuckle behind a coughing fit. Raven looked at him strangely, but thought nothing of it. I sighed and thought that he should probably stop reading my mind. He nodded again.

_I’ll try my best, but I make no promises, Sky._

Well, that doesn’t seem like a nice thing to do.

_All right, fine. But only if you talk to Erik._

Why did he care so much?

_Because it’s a step to making both of you recover from the awful things that have happened to you._

Fine. Tonight. Was that good enough?

_Perfect._

Oh hey, his presence was gone. That was a good sign. For now. I looked up at Erik. How had Charles noticed before I did? I had thought that it was just my attachment issues, but I supposed that it made sense. It would explain a lot. I shook my head. Tonight. I had said tonight. I would have plenty of time to figure this out before then. 

The plane landed and we all got off. I stretched my legs. We all into a military facility. We were led to a lab of some sort. It was impressive, given what it was supposed to do. What was it supposed to do, anyway? 

“Welcome to my facility. My mission has been to investigate the application of paranormal powers in military defense.” The man in black said.

That explained that. No one had told me his name. What was his name? I would just call him MIB for short.

“Or offense.” Erik said quietly.

I elbowed him. There was no need to be rude. Even if he was technically right. About it all.

“This guy Shaw, Schmidt, whatever you want to call him, he’s working with the Russians. We might need your held to stop him.”

“Marvelous. So we are to be the CIA’s new mutant division, yes?” Charles said.

“Something like that.”

A man standing by one of the tables saw all of us. Charles was looking up at the plane model, clearly impressed with everything in this room. The young man pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“It’s, uh, supersonic. The most advanced plane ever built.” He looked at Raven and hesitated before speaking again. Yeah, she was beautiful, even when she wasn’t in her natural blue form. “You should see it in person. It’s incredible.”

“Hank, these are the special new recruits I was telling you about.” The MIB said. He turned to us. “This is Hank McCoy, one of our talented young researchers.”

“How wonderful, another mutant already here.” Charles moved to shake Hank’s hand. “Why didn’t you say?”

I didn’t have to be a telepath to know that Hank hadn’t told anyone. He looked a little horrified, as well as relieved. I turned my head to the side. I wondered what that felt like. Charles was humiliated when he figured it out.

“Because you didn’t know. Hank, I am so terribly sorry.” Charles shook his head.

“Hank?”

“You didn’t ask, so I didn’t tell.” Hank shrugged.

“So your mutation is what? You’re super smart?” Raven asked.

Erik looked very bored with this all. Not because of what the conversation was about, but more so because he was thinking about how he was next going to find Shaw. I could see it in his face. Maybe I knew him better than I wanted to think. I shook my head and focused on what was going on.

“I’ll say, Hank here graduated Harvard at the age of 15.”

“I wish that was all that it was.” Hank said sadly.

“You’re among friends now, Hank. You can show off.”

Hank looked around at us nervously, like he still wasn’t sure. Charles looked at me pleadingly. I took off my jacket and handed it to Erik. I opened my wings, careful not to hit any of the tables. Hank clearly became more relaxed. He took off his shoes and socks and uncurled his toes. I smiled. He stepped under the model of the plane and jumped, holding onto the edge with his feet. We all laughed.

“You’re amazing!” Raven exclaimed.

It looked like that was the first time that anyone had ever said that to him. I couldn’t help but wonder how many mutants were ignored like that. How many hated themselves because no one had shown them a different way? I shook my head sadly. That was such a mistake. It wasn’t fair. I wished that there was something more that I could do.

* * *

I had managed to find a tennis ball. I was throwing it against a wall to entertain myself while I was trying to sort through my feelings. It seemed like Charles really did know me better than I knew myself. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. And I wasn’t entirely sure that I wanted it to be true. I would be admitting that I had feelings for someone who would kill without a second guess and there was no gurantee that he would ever change, even if he had someone he cared about. I thought back to the tavern. I was shot in the back. When he thought that I was dead, he had killed those three men. If that was his way of showing affection, I wasn’t sure that I wanted it. 

No, that wasn’t true. That wasn’t the only way that he showed affection and I knew it. He just wasn’t very good at showing it often. When I was scared or distressed, he tried his best to calm me down. After my nightmare, he sat with me. On the plane, he had made me those wings, even though there was the risk of detection. I reached into my pocket. I had kept them with me ever since then, even though that was only a week or so ago. They had really helped me stay calm in a few situations. I smiled softly. He really did have a hold on me, didn’t he? And I hadn’t even realised it until now.

“Sky? Is that you?”

I caught the ball in my hand and looked up. It was Erik. I stood up. It was now or never, wasn’t it?

“Hey. Over here.” I waved him over.

“What are you doing down there?”

“Oh, you know, enjoying the view.”

“It’s the facility, isn’t it? It reminds you of-”

“No. Well, most buildings like this do, but that’s not what I’ve been thinking about.”

“Oh.” He sat next to me. “What’s on your mind, then?”

“Something that Charles said. I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I’m beginning to think that he isn’t wrong.”

“And what did he say?”

This was my chance. This was probably my only chance to tell him when we were alone. The only question was whether or not it was worth it to tell him. It would certainly make things more complicated. Did I have any other choice? I turned to face him. He was looking down at me. I could feel my nerves growing. Now or never.

“You and I… we’ve been together a long time, Erik.”

“Yes, we have. A year.” He rested his head back and smiled. “It seems like only yesterday that I was using this necklace to try and torture you into telling me what you knew about Shaw.”

He took the charm between his thumb and forefinger.

“And then I used my powers to take you over a hundred feet into the sky.”

“Yes, that was quite entertaining.”

“That’s one word for it.” I chuckled. “I… well, we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“I’d like to think so. I wasn’t sure about you. After all, you did say that after we found Shaw, we would be parting ways.” He put his hand on the back of his neck.

“That’s because I thought that’s what you still wanted. I wasn’t sure. We’ve had some rocky times in the last month.”

“That we have. But I think I’m stuck with you. I’d miss you when you’re gone.”

“Yeah, it’d be pretty lonely without you around.”

I leaned my head against his shoulder. I had managed to talk about what I wanted to talk about without _actually_ talking about it. Still, it was nice to know that we were friends at least. At the same time, it made everything much more complicated. It meant that I had more to lose if he didn’t feel the same way. I still wasn’t sure how I felt. I sighed.

“You know, I- well, I just wanted to say that I- you know what? You look like you have something that you want to say.” 

I. was such. A coward. Honestly. I took my head off of his shoulder. Why was it so hard to tell him something so simple? This was a golden opportunity that I was letting go to waste. That I was pushing away from myself. My heart was racing and my mind was working like I had superspeed. There had to be an easier way. I had already said it. It was too late to change it now. I would just have to let Erik talk and then try again later. 

“What makes you say that?” Erik asked, looking over at me.

“Well, you clearly weren’t looking for me. What’s going on in that thick skull of yours?”

“Very funny. I’m not sure that I want to stay here. With all of these people. We did far better on our own.”

“Erik, in a day, they managed to do what had taken us a year.”

“I don’t like crowds.”

“Yeah. I’m not a fan of them either. All right, if you’re certain that this is what you want, then I see no reason why we should stay. Besides, there’s probably more information here on Shaw than we had before. So, shall we?” I stood up.

“You would leave them for me?”

“They wouldn’t be nearly as much fun to control.” I helped him stand. “I grew up in buildings like these. My father was a senator and most of my brothers have gone into politics, and trust me, you are about as far from the file room as you could be. If you would care to follow me, good sir, then we can get to work.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

I laughed. This was better. I liked it being just the two of us. Erik and Sky, taking on the world. Or just Shaw, for now. Maybe when we finally found him, we’d be able to move on with our lives. I hoped that it would give Erik some closure. He desperately needed it. This was my way of helping.

I made my way through the building. Most government buildings had a similar set up. I took a turn and there it was. The file room. Erik gave me silent applause. We entered. I started searching through the file cabinets marked “s”. I pulled one that said Shaw. It had some information, but nothing that we didn’t already know. Erik held up a briefcase. It had all of their information. I threw in the file I had found. And we were ready to leave. It was time. I would be lying if I said that I wouldn’t miss these people They were good people and they would have helped us, but I _knew_ Erik. I trusted him and I didn’t want to leave him. I couldn’t. I had lost so many people in my lifetime and I was only 25. I didn’t want to leave him because then I would lose him too.

We walked out of the front doors.

“From what I know about the two of you, I'm surprised you've managed to stay this long. Although I must admit that I am more surprised to see you leaving, Sky.” It was Charles. Of course it was Charles. He was a telepath.

“What do you know about me?” Erik spun on his heel.

“Everything.”

“Then you know to stay out of my head.”

“I’m sorry, Erik, Sky, but I’ve seen what’s been done to you. I’ve felt your agony. I can help you. Both of you.”

“We don't need your help.”

“Don't kid yourself. You needed my help last night. It's not just me you're walking away from. Here you have the chance to be part of something much bigger than just the two of you. I won't stop you leaving. I could. But I won't. Shaw has got friends. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some more of your own?”

Charles headed back inside. I turned to face Erik.

“Not you, too, Sky.”

“Would it really be the worst thing in the world? Think about it. All of those mutants out there, scared and alone. They need people like us to find them.” I sighed. “I don’t want to leave you, Erik. I care about you, much more than you, or even I, realise. We have a chance to change lives. It would be a shame to let that go to waste.”

“I know. I know. About all of those things.”

“I… I’m staying, Erik. I hope that you will, too.” I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. 

I really hoped that he would be staying with us all.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus continues their story. I hope you enjoy this latest chapter

I walked inside and looked back out. Erik was still walking away. I turned around. Charles was standing just inside. He smiled when he saw me. I wished that I could share his feelings of happiness, but I had just lost my best friend.

“I’m glad to see you’ve decided to stay.” He said.

“It’ll be nice to be a part of a group. I hope.”

I really wasn’t sure. I turned around again. Erik was out of sight, but far from out of my mind. Charles took me to a private room. He stood in the doorframe, looking like he had something to say, but wasn’t quite sure how to phrase it.

“I’m sure he’ll come around. He cares about you, you know.”

“I thought I did, once. Now, I’m not so sure. He’s been all that I’ve had for so long. And I’ve been all that he’s had. I don’t think we’ll be able to come back from his one. I just left him alone.”

Charles almost took a step inside, but thought better of it. He walked away and closed the door behind him. I sat on the bed and rested my head in my hands. Why had I done that? I had never wanted to lose him, but I had. I was the reason that I had lost him. I had certainly never expected that. I laid back on the bed and drifted to sleep.

* * *

I sat in a room with Charles and the MIB. I looked outside. Erik wasn’t coming, was he? I should have stayed with him. I turned back to face the MIB. Charles took my hand and gave me a small smile. I closed my eyes for a moment. He was gone. I had literally let him walk out my life. Hell, I had pushed him out of the door myself and slammed it shut. Maybe there was a crack that I could get my foot through, but it was small. Almost non-existent. I wanted to pay attention to what the MIB was saying, but I couldn’t focus. Not when I was thinking about Erik and where he was and how I had abandoned him. He had to hate me now. I would have hated me, that was for damn sure.

Charles and the MIB were talking about an installment that Hank had been building while we were gone. It was going to help Charles track down the mutants. I made up my mind, right then and there. I was going to focus on helping Charles find the mutants of the world. It would keep me busy, at the very least, and a part of me had always regretted not being able to help more mutants when I had the chance. This was better for me anyway. It was safer.

“-help us find other mutants for our division.” The MIB said.

Ah, I was finally able to be fully tuned into the conversation. How lovely.

“What if they don’t want to be found by you?”

I resisted the urge to jump out of my chair and hug him. He had come back. Erik had come back to us. To me. To us. I turned around to look at him. He smiled at me briefly, but quickly turned serious again. Erik stood behind my chair.

“Erik. You decided to stay.” Charles said, with a slight tone of amusement.

He had known the whole time, hadn’t he? Damn that telepath! Well, it didn’t much matter now. Erik was here. I wasn’t alone. He probably didn’t hate me. That was a good sign.

“If a new species is being discovered, it should be by it’s own kind. Charles, Sky, and I will find the mutants. No suits.” Erik crossed his arms.

“First of all,” the Man in Black began, “that’s _my_ machine out there. Second of all, and much more importantly, this is _Charles’_ decision. Charles is fine with the CIA being involved. Isn’t that right?”

All eyes were on Charles. He looked from me to Erik. If he decided to side with the Man in Black, he would lose Erik and myself, as well. I had decided that after our latest debacle, I was going to be staying with Erik. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. I looked up at Erik. He had a determined expression on his face. I turned to Charles and I knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth.

“No, I’m sorry, but I’m with Erik. We’ll find them alone.” Charles said.

I could see Erik let out a small sigh of relief, unnoticable if you didn’t know him like I did. He uncrossed his arms.

“What if I say no?” The MIB asked.

“Then good luck using your installation without me.”

The three of us looked at the MIB. He knew that he had been beaten. There was nothing that he could say to stop us. He had no leg to stand on and he had to agree with us. So he did, and we got what we wanted. With the decision having been made, we were free to leave. So I did. I walked out of the room. Erik followed me. He took my arm and turned me to face him. He had a serious expression on his face.

“Sky, can we talk? Somewhere away from prying eyes?” Erik asked.

“All right. Come on.”

I took his hand and we found a room that was empty. My mind was racing. What could he possible want to talk to me about? About how I had abandoned him for people that we barely knew? Kicking him on the CIA boat (even though he really did deserve a good kick)? There were so many possibilities and I swore that they were all running through my head in that moment. Erik close the door behind us and crossed his arms behind his back. I knew from his expression that he was thinking of what to say, and how to say it properly. So was I. I had planned out an entire conversation for as many as the scenarios as I could manage to come up with. We were in a room with a window. If all else failed, I would at least be able to fly away. I was hoping that that didn’t come to pass. It would make him coming back more complicated. Not that it wasn’t already complicated.

“Sky I wanted you to know that it wasn’t Charles who convinced me to come back. It was you. I didn’t want to leave you.” He said calmly. “You and I, we’re a team.”

“That is one way to put it, I suppose.” I laughed nervously. “Is that all?”

“No. No, it’s not. I also wanted to say that I… well, after what you said last night, I-”

He was having trouble speaking. Erik never had trouble speaking. It was one of his strongest suits. He thought about every scenario, all of the what if questions and their answers and he was never speechless. Never. This was a rare sight indeed. More thoughts started to race through my head. It was overwhelming. I had no choice. I shut them out. I shut it all out so it was just Erik and I. I knew what I was going to do and it was going to save Erik and I a lot of trouble in the long run. 

I took a step towards him, grabbed his jacket, and pulled him down into a kiss.

We were both hesitant at first. It was nothing like I had imagined our first kiss would be. It wasn’t long before Erik had taken complete control. He held me close against his chest. Erik was a few inches taller than me. He pushed me back against a desk, lifting me up so I was sitting on the edge. I wrapped a leg around his waist and pulled him closer to me. His right hand slid into my hair; his left squeezed my waist. I hadn’t imagined that it would feel like this. That it would feel so… right, and natural. Like this was what we had been missing for so long. Everything faded away, leaving Erik and I. There were no more thoughts of Shaw or finding mutants or the CIA. Just us.

Erik pulled away first. He rested his forehead against mine. We were both out of breath. I never would have guessed that he was the missing piece.

“Tell why that took us so long?” He asked with a smile.

“Because we’re both stubborn people who refused to acknowledge it until someone threw it in our faces. But now that it’s there-” he kissed me softly before I could finish, “-I don’t think I’ll be letting go of you again.”

“We wouldn’t have been apart for long. You’d miss me too much.”

“Tell me again who came back for who?”

He pulled me back into another kiss. “An effective way to shut you up, then. I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

“Stuff it, Lehnsherr. Let’s go, before they miss us.”

And so we left the room and found Charles, Hank, and Raven. Charles looked at us curiously but said nothing. I smiled appreciatively. The five of us headed to the satellite installation that Hank had worked so hard on. I climbed up the ladder. I had no words for what I saw inside. The entire satellite had been refitted with a bunch of new equipment. There were wires everywhere, all of them leading to some sort of headgear in the centre. Charles looked ecstatic. Hank looked happy to see that we were excited. He must have been nervous that we wouldn’t like it, or something like that. He seemed like the kind of person who needed to be accepted by others. That was probably why he had acted the way that he did when he first showed us his mutation.

I knew that I would never understand what that felt like. I had been accepted for me by two people that I cared for deeply. People that cared for me, as well. I wondered if Hank had ever had that. I shook my head. More important things, although I didn’t really think that there was anything more important than feeling accepted by those around you. Maybe being around people like him would help to change his outlook on all of this.

“I call it Cerebro, as in the Spanish for brain.” Hank said proudly.

“Yes.” Charles was smiling.

Hank started to set up Cerebro, putting the headset on Charles and putting electrodes on his forehead. I had a horrifying memory for a second, but shook it off. I wasn’t going to let this be ruined for me.

“Okay, so, the electrodes connect Charles to the transmitter on the roof. When he picks up a mutant, his brain sends a signal through a relay and then the coordinates of their location are printed out here.” Hank gestured to a roll of paper.

“You designed this?” Raven asked in wonderment.

“Yeah.”

“So it’s all for a girl.” Erik whispered in my ear. “A man after my own heart.”

I pushed him away from me, but smiled nonetheless. He shrugged it off, as he did so many things. Erik walked and looked at Charles in the headset.

“What an adorable lab rat you make, Charles.” He said,

My easy smile wavered, but Erik didn’t seem to have the same reservations despite our similar pasts. I took a breath and decided to just enjoy this.

“Don't spoil this for me, Erik.” Charles scolded.

“I've been a lab rat. I know one when I see one.”

So had I, but I clearly wasn’t as over it as he was.

“Okay, great. Are you sure we can't shave your head?” Hank asked.

“Don't touch my hair.” Charles responded protectively.

“Okay.” Hank turned on the machine.

Charles exclaimed in what could be called either shock or pain. I stiffened. Erik took my hand in an effort to reassure me that it was all right. I didn’t relax until I saw that Charles was smiling. And I walked around to look at him. He was so excited. The machines around him started whirring.

“It's working!” Hank exclaimed.

Sure enough, the coordinates were appearing on the page, faster than we could read them. About half way down, Hank powered down the machine. Charles took off the headset and immediately began talking about what he had seen and how amazing it had been. He was talking a million miles a minute. I laughed. It was nice to see him so excited about this. It was going to be so amazing being able to help all of those mutants. People that didn’t feel like they belonged finally having a place to call a home. People to call their family. That was what I really wanted for them all. I didn’t want for them to be afraid.

I didn’t want to be afraid. 

I walked away from Erik and leaned against one of the rails. Why was I still afraid after all of this time? They weren’t going to find me. Not while I was surrounded by these people. There wasn’t anything for me to be afraid of anymore. Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally halfway through the story friends.


	10. Chapter 10

_“We’re heading out soon, Sky. Are you coming with us?” Erik asked, pulling on his leather jacket._

_“No, I’m all right. Three’s a crowd, after all.” I responded. “I’d rather stay here and read a good book. Besides, someone’s got to look after Raven.”_

_Erik gave me a kiss before he left. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the metal wings he had given me._

_“Erik, wait.”_

_He turned around. “Already changed your mind?” He chuckled._

_“Not on your life, mister. I just… here.” I gave him the wings._

_“The wings? What are these for?”_

_“To keep you safe. I don’t know. It just… feels right that you have them while you’re gone.”_

_“I’ll bring them back to you safe.”_

_“I’d rather have you than the wings, Erik. So be careful.”_

_“I will.”_

That was the conversation Erik and I had had before he and Charles left to go and recruit new mutants. It would be better if it was just the two of them. There would be less confusion. People would probably be less scared of them as well. As I had said to Erik, three was a crowd and a crowd would worry some people. Charles said they would be back once they had gotten enough recruits. I spent most of my time with Moira, planning out how we would confront Shaw. We had to find him first. I had to say that it was impressive how many resources the CIA had. It would make it significantly easier to find Shaw. So that was what Moira and I were focused on while Charles and Erik were busy recruiting. Raven and Hank hung out when they could. I thought that the two of them were adorable together. I was just a little worried about… nevermind. I was sure that it wouldn’t really matter, anyway.

Today was the seventh day that they had been gone. No sign of any mutant recruits. Either they had failed, or they were waiting to send us them until they were all together. It didn’t really matter. I was having a little bit of a day off, relaxing in one of the lounges with a book. Moira had a small library with her. I hadn’t read most of them, so each one was a new adventure. I loved that about books. I was walking when I heard Moira knocking on the door frame.

“Hey, Sky. I was wondering where you were.” She said.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Erik and Charles are coming back today. They’ve got four new recruits for the division.”

“Really? Four? Impressive. We might stand a chance against Shaw yet.”

“My thoughts exactly. Come on.”

Moira and I walked to the front of the building, where Charles, Erik, and their four new recruits came walking up. I gave them all a once-over. The way that they were now, they didn’t look like much. They wouldn’t stand a chance against Shaw. They were fresh-faced and young. They didn’t know the horrors of the world, not the way that I did. I watched them walk past me. The recruits followed Moira to the room that the CIA had prepared for our little ragtag group of misfits. Charles and Erik stopped in front of me. I looked back at them.

“So, what have we got?” I asked.

“Angel, Darwin, Alex, and Sean. Angel has wings, like you do. Well, similar to yours. Hers turn into tattoos.” Charles said. “Darwin adapts to his situations, Alex can shoot out blasts of energy, and Sean can shout in sonic waves.”

“And as for what they can do as a group? Do you think they’ll work well together?”

“I don’t think they’ll have much choice.” Erik responded.

Of course they wouldn’t. Moira and I hadn’t yet determined where Shaw was going, but as soon as we knew, she would be asking for permission to take them along. It was my sincere hope that they could learn to work together. To be friends. If they didn’t, then we would be in quite a terrible situation. They would fall victim to Shaw, just like Erik and I had. I wanted them to understand, but I knew that there was no way that they would. 

Sometimes, I surprised myself. I was so young, but I behaved like I was a wise old woman. I was the farthest thing from that. I was still a child myself. It was easy to forget that. I looked at Erik. He was four years older than I was and not much better, considering his behaviour. I sighed. Charles walked inside. Erik stood next to me and held out the wings, letting them hover an inch above his palm.

“I promised I would bring them back.” He said.

“Keep them. I’ve got the real deal.” I joked. “Come on, then. Let’s take a look at your new recruits, see what their made of.”

The oldest of them was Darwin and he was younger than me. He was a child. They were all children, and Charles and Moira wanted to send them to face Shaw with little to no training. This was ludicrous. It was like they hadn’t heard our warnings about him. I put my hands in my pocket as I watched them all start to get acquainted. Like I had expected, they were very awkward around each other. They didn’t know what else to be. Their whole lives, they had tried to hide their mutations. I don’t think that they had ever had someone seek them out _for_ their mutation, especially not for a purpose like this. Did they even know why they were being gathered? They were far to calm to really know what was happening around them. Either that, or they were just unaware of the true seriousness of this all. That made a sad bit of sense.

Charles came back with a chess board.

“Erik, Sky, would you like to join me downtown for a game of chess? I’m feeling a little bit… antsy.” Charles was smiling, like he was one of those kids.

It was sometimes easy to forget that he was only a year younger than me.

“Why not?” Erik said. “I haven’t played a game in far too long.”

“Forgive me for thinking about other things, Erik. But that sounds lovely, as long as you mind leaving me out of it. I’ve spent far too much time focusing on other things to switch to chess today.” I shrugged.

We told Moira we were leaving and she just nodded. That was enough for us to head off. It was a nice day to walk down to the Lincoln Memorial. We walked past the White House. I glanced over and wondered what the people there were doing on this fine day. I shook my head and focused instead on Charles and Erik. We reached the steps and they set up the game. I could play chess, but I didn’t particularly enjoy it as a game. When there was nothing else to do, I would play a game or two with Erik, but I never sought out a game.

I leaned against Erik’s back and looked up at the sky. I saw the birds flying overhead. I had more than once wished that I could shrink to their size and just fly away. Fly away from my troubles and all of the things that were unpleasant in the world. Birds had a simple life. I had the opposite of that. But I had Erik, as well. He would hopefully make it more bearable.

“I can't stop thinking about the others out there. All those minds that I touched. I could feel them. Their isolation, their hopes, their ambitions. I tell you, we are at the start of something incredible. We can help them.” Charles said.

He was so idealistic. He was always optimistic and I couldn’t understand how he did that. I wanted to be able to do that. At the same time, I could see what he was doing. I knew that there were people out there that were like what he wanted them to be, but there were still...

“Can we? Identification, that's how it starts. And ends with being rounded up, experimented on, eliminated.”

Erik was Charles’ opposite. He was very pessimistic. He always had been. When we had first met, he had been much worse. He had an excuse. His whole life had been from one bad experience to the next. I was surprised that he wasn’t much, _much_ worse.

“Not this time. We have common enemies. Shaw, the Russians. They need us.”

“For now.” Erik turned to me, forcing me to reposition on the steps. “You’re being uncharacteristically silent.”

“Well, both of you are right. We just have to remember that they will be thinking about what’s best for them and hope that that includes us.” I responded. “We can’t expect for them to be anything other than what they are.”

I was the middle ground, evidently. I wanted to keep both of them in check. I had a feeling that they would have a very different relationship if not. Then again, maybe not. Charles and Erik finished their game. Erik won. Charles went back to the facility while Erik and I decided to walk around a bit more, just the two of us. I was glad for the time to ourselves. I had a feeling that this would become a rare occasion in the future.

Erik and I spoke about chess and some of the times we had shared together. The moments that had lead us to this one. Small things like that. It was nice to just have time with him. It was an easy sort of conversation. Erik stopped. He looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. He had a faint smile across his lips. A rare sight indeed.

“Can you feel the change in the air, Sky? It’s coming soon.” Erik said. He turned to look at me.

“It’s already here, Erik.” I responded. “The real question is whether or not we’ll change with it.”

Erik chuckled. “Have you noticed that you’re usually contradicting me?”

“Only when it’s something _worth_ contradicting.”

I faced him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He leaned down and kissed me. I knew that we wouldn’t have this forever. I never really kept my happiness long, but I was content with enjoying it while it lasted. He pulled away and ran a thumb across my bottom lip. We continued walking. I pointed out a few of the sights of Washington, D.C. I had been here more than once and I still remembered some of it from when I was a kid. John had loved taking me on tours whenever the family came for a visit. I sighed. I would one day go an extended period of time without thinking about those days. One day.

Erik made the decision to walk back to the facility. I was more than happy to get out of that place of memories. It was late when we finally walked through the doors/ Charles and Moira walked by us.

“We were just looking for you two. I have a possible lead on Shaw’s location.” Moira said. “I’m headed up to talk to the director about taking the others on their first mission.”

She walked away before I could say anything. Those poor sods were still getting acquainted. They had been here for maybe seven hours. That wasn’t enough time. They had no idea what they were up against. Charles looked confident. Hell, I even would have called it pride if I didn’t know any better. He had too much faith in them. Maybe I didn’t have enough, but I was at least being more realistic than he was. I had no doubts that they would be exceptional one day, but they needed training. I shook my head. This was a mistake. We would need a miracle to stop them from sending out those kids.

Moira came back with a smile on her face. She had won and the cost would be their lives. The four of us started to walk to tell the new recruits.

I had to emphasize that they were _new_ recruits. They had no training. Shaw would destroy them with a flick of his wrist. If I remained silent, I would be signing their death warrants.

“We have intel that Shaw in meeting with the Russian Defense Chief in Moscow.” Moira said as we walked. “McCone cleared my request to take along the new mutant division.”

“This is a mistake.” I shook my head. “Neither of you have seen Shaw face to face. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“Sky is right. You can’t send them out there. It’ll be a massacre and all of this will have been for nothing.” Erik agreed.

“You two are just being paranoid.” Charles scoffed.

We continued to try and argue our point as we walked on, but Charles wasn’t listening to us. He was far to determined. We turned a corner.

“I’m telling you, those kids are _not ready_ to face Shaw!” Erik insisted one last time.

This was more than just frustrating. It was infuriating! We were trying to save their lives. Why couldn’t Charles see that? Stubborn man. How did he expect for us to win when they had never been trained? I was even reluctant to take along Charles, but at least he could control minds. He stood a fighting chance. The others here were just children.

“I think they’re going to surprise you. They’re an exceptional bunch of young people.” Charles said.

“What the hell?!” Moira exclaimed.

“What the hell” was one question to ask. It was a scene of destruction, caused by Charles’ “exceptional” young people. The statue in the yard had been split in half- obviously the work of Alex. The glass window closing off their room had been shattered and Alex was hitting Darwin with various objects. Even Hank had joined in on the madness. He was hanging upside down from the chandelier. Angel was floating in the air with her delicate wings to the beat of the music. When they saw that we were there, all of the chaos stopped. Hank was the only one who looked remotely guilty.

“What is going on here?! Who destroyed the statue?”

“Alex did it.” Hank said quickly, pushing up his glasses along the bridge of his nose.

“No, Havok! We have to call him Havok. That’s his name now.” Raven said, smiling. She was red in the face from all of the excitement. “And we were thinking that you should be Professor X,” she pointed to Charles, then me, “you should be Azure, and you,” she smiled at Erik, “should be Magneto.”

“Exceptional.” Erik scoffed.

“I told you they weren’t ready, Charles.” I shook my head and walked away with Erik.

Raven’s smile had dropped. I didn’t have time to feel guilty for my words. I had a plane to catch.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 11. Is anyone enjoying this? I hope so. :p

I changed into a dark shirt and a neat pair of pants, along with an old pair of hiking boots. Before I had done that, I had slit two large holes in the back of the new shirt for my wings. I made sure that they were large enough. I was again glad for their dark colour. That would help if we had to sneak around. I would blend in more. I shouldered on a dark leather coat as Erik knocked on my door. He was in his usual dark turtleneck and brown leather jacket. He looked very handsome.

“Are you ready? The plane is leaving soon.” He said.

“Yeah. Let’s go.” I turned and started to walk with him.

Ever since the CIA had become involved in my life, I had been spending far more time in planes than I liked. In Russia, it was early morning. The plane landed far away from the site. Charles, Erik, and I, along with half a dozen soldiers, were put into the back of a truck. I was anxious about confronting Shaw. Just seeing him on that dock had nearly petrified me. Facing him… who knew what that would do to me? I couldn’t, no, I wouldn’t let myself get worried about that now. I had to focus on getting to him first. The truck hit more than it’s fair share of bumps as we drove on. I had one arm braced against the roof of the truck to keep from flying out of my seat.

I was glad that Charles had come to his sense regarding the young mutants. Granted, it had been because they were foolish children, like Erik and I had said from the beginning. I just hoped that we were strong enough to do this ourselves. There were no guarantees in this world. We would have to do our best to face Shaw. We had had so few opportunities like this. We had to take this element of surprise for what it was. No more wasted opportunities.

Another bump sent me leaning into Erik. He gently pushed my waist so I was back in my own seat. I smiled appreciatively. The little window opened and Moira looked back at all of us. She didn’t look exactly happy. That wasn’t a good sign for us. I had a bad feeling about this.

“We have a problem.” She said.

“What?” Charles looked more alarmed than any of us. 

Maybe he knew something we didn’t.

“I’m so sorry, this wasn’t on the map.”

I looked through the window. There was a roadblock. Damn. _Damn!_ What were we going to do? Moira closed the window. Charles had a plan. I could see it. He was a brilliant strategist, after all.

“All right, no matter what happens, act normally. I'll take care of this, all right? Now, listen to me, I’m going to get inside his head to hide all of us from view. You have to stay very still and silent. Understand?”

We all nodded. I heard one of the Russian soldiers talk to Levene up front. Levene responded in perfect Russian. Thank god the CIA had them learn so many different languages. There were footsteps along the outside of the truck. It was like everyone stopped breathing in that moment. It was just waiting to see what would happen. To see if Charles’ plan would work. And I hoped more than anything that it would. I involuntarily took Erik’s hand and started to squeeze. He said nothing. We both stayed stiff in our seats while Charles took a step forward.

“Easy, easy.” Charles said as the soldiers started to instinctively raise their guns. “Take it easy, chaps.”

It seemed like it was a lifetime before the doors opened. My heart must have stopped in that moment I saw the soldier looking in at us. Charles looked like he was struggling to keep up whatever he was doing. The soldier looked around the truck. He had no idea that we were here. The doors were closed again and Charles was able to relax. Erik and I kept him from slamming back against the truck. He looked exhausted, but soon got his strength back. 

The truck was abandoned a little ways down the road and off to the side where it couldn’t easily be found. Everyone exited. We had determined a place to watch the Russian officer’s house from. It was far enough away that they couldn’t see us, but we could see them with our binoculars. I didn’t particularly need them. I had exceptional eyesight- another perk of my mutation. I watched impatiently. Where was Shaw? Wasn’t he supposed to be here?

I felt a wave of relief when I saw her white outfit. But she was alone. Emma was alone. He wasn’t here. Dammit! This was supposed to be our chance to find him, finally! Why wasn’t he here? Surely he didn’t know that we were coming? Emma’s telepathic reach surely didn’t go out that far? Did it? No. No, she’d have to have something like Cerebro and there was only one Cerebro in the world.

“Where’s Shaw?” Moira asked.

At least I wasn’t the only one wondering.

“I don’t know, but if she’s a telepath and I read her, she’ll know that we’re here.” Charles responded, shaking his head in frustration. “Let me try something else.”

I could see the steady anger forming under Erik’s eyes. There wasn’t anything that I would be able to do to calm him down, not now. Not when we had been so close only to have it taken away. I was finding it hard to be calm myself. I turned to Charles. He was again in a strong concentrated mode of his telepathic powers. I looked back to the house. One of the soldiers followed Emma with his head. Once she and the Russian officer were back inside, he snapped back into place, like he had no idea what had just happened. Charles took his hand off of his temple.

“Shaw’s not coming.” He sighed. “What now, boss?”

“Now, nothing. We’re here for Shaw. Mission aborted.” Moira responded with a similar disappointment.

“The hell it is.” Erik said with his anger poking through.

“Erik.” I said in a warning tone, grabbing his arm as he started to move away from the group.

I wanted to go after her too. I really did. She was half of the reason that Monica had died, but there was no point if Shaw wasn’t here. Not really. Then again… wouldn’t he want to come after her? That would bring him to us. A sort of bait. But we really couldn’t do that, could we? It was wrong, wasn’t it? He and I exchanged a glance. We were thinking the same thing. He had just come to his conclusion much faster than I was.

“She’s his right hand woman. That’s good enough for me. Is it for you?” He pulled away from my grip.

“The CIA invading the home of a senior Soviet official. Are you crazy?” Moira scoffed.

“I'm not CIA.”

“Erik!” Charles called as he ran off in the woods.

I looked back at Erik. I looked to the house and then back once more. I had made up my mind. Charles grabbed my arm.

“I’m sorry, Charles, but I can’t let her get away anymore than I could let Shaw out of my grip. I’ve got to go after him.” I said, leaving my jacket with them.

I ran off into the woods, going back farther than Erik did. I jumped into the air and grabbed a tree branch. I climbed until I believed that I was high enough. I pushed off of the bark and let my wings unfurl. I took to the air, high above the people. I could see Erik running through, using his powers to take out the guards. They were all scared and then soon unconscious. I moved forward. I landed back on the ground. Erik had left the door open. Good for him. I closed my wings again and ran through. Erik had really done a number on all of these guards. I had almost forgotten how much power he had when he was angry like this. I made my way around the unconscious men. At least they were still alive, I supposed.

It wasn’t long before Charles was behind me. He looked more frustrated than anything else. He used his powers to calm the minds of those affected. We ran through the house and found Erik standing behind a great door.

“Took you long enough. Come on, then.” Erik said.

Erik and I pushed open the door. I… I had no words for the scene before me.

It wasn’t horrifying. At least, I didn’t think that it was. The Russian officer was pawing at the air like it was a woman. Emma was sitting in a chair with a box of crackers. When she saw the three of us standing there, she stood. Charles looked at the officer again. I kept my eyes on Emma. Charles dealt with the officer. Emma shifted into a diamond form. It was impressive, but it didn’t make me hate her any less. I started pacing. I was not exactly a patient person. It was something that I was trying very hard to work on. Today was not one of those days, I could say that for certain.

“You can stop trying to read me, honey. You’re never going to get anything out of me while I’m like this.” Emma said with a certain level of swagger that I didn’t much care for.

“So then you can just tell us.” I said darkly. “Where’s Shaw?”

I had very little patience for this woman in particular. I just saw her as that woman in the store who had bumped into me. That had read my mind and invaded my home with the intention of killing someone dear to me. I could see from her facial expression that she knew all of this. She must have known what my next thought was as well, as she started to try to run out of the room. Erik and Charles caught her before she could get away. They threw her back against the metal bed frame. Erik used his powers to create bindings, keeping her stuck there.

I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t find any pleasure in the sight of it. It was what happened next that made my stomach start to churn. Erik started to tighten the metal collar on her neck. She tried to stay strong at first, but she soon couldn’t breathe. Her neck started to crack. He was going to kill her. He had tuned out Charles who was trying to stop him by saying his name. I took a step forward and put my hand on Erik’s arm. He looked over at me and stopped, letting the collar fall away from her neck. He took a step to the side and started to fix himself a drink.

“All yours. She won't be shifting into diamond form again. And if she does, just give her a gentle tap.” Erik said, taking a sup of his drink.

Charles didn’t look happy, but he still took the opportunity that he had been given. He put his fingers to his temple and stared intensely at Emma. She didn’t try to resist him this time. She couldn’t. I shook my head at Erik. He shouldn’t have done that. He had let his emotions get the better of him. I wasn’t any better. I wasn’t exactly any better. If Charles hadn’t have been there, I was certain that I would have let Erik continue for longer than he had. I blamed Emma almost as much as I blamed Shaw. I looked back to Charles. His face had fallen. What did he know?

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Emma said with a cocky grin.

“This is worse than we previously imagined. We’re taking you with us. The CIA will want to question you for themselves.” Charles said with nothing but disdain for the woman crouched before him.

“Oh, I doubt it. They have bigger things to worry about right now.”

What could she have meant by that? Erik put his drink down. I ran through it all in my head. She was here. Where was Shaw? Where was Azazel? What did she mean? Where was Shaw? Shaw. Shaw wasn’t here. We weren’t there. If Shaw wasn’t here and we weren’t there, then that would mean that… no. I took a step back as it all came together.

“Shaw’s after the others.” I said quietly.

I turned on my heel and started to run. I had to warn them. I had to do something. I couldn’t stay here. I got to the front porch and jumped into the air, unfurling my great wings.

“Sky! Sky, wait!” Erik yelled after me.

I ignored him. We couldn’t stay here one minute longer. I felt something cold wrap around my leg and I was brought back down to the ground. I tried to run again. Erik pulled me into his arms, refusing to let me go.

“Let me go, Erik! We have to tell them! I can’t stay here, I have to go!”

“You’d never make it in time, Sky! And even if you did, you’d be exhausted and Shaw would kill you in an instant. Look at me. Sky, look at me!” I did. “The best that we can do is go back on the plan and go as quickly as we can. I know you want to leave now. I do too, but we can’t. We have to go now.”

“He’ll kill them all. That’s why he sent Emma. He knew that we were coming.”

“There’s only one way to find out. Come on. Let’s go.”

The pit in my stomach already told me what had happened to them. Shaw had won another fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments=writer fuel


	12. Chapter 12

As soon as the plane hit the tarmac, the four of us were outside. We had told Moira as quickly as we could what had happened There was a car waiting outside. I was nearest the right door. I was tapping my foot impatiently and trying in vain to get the pit to leave my stomach. We should have seen this coming. We should have known that something was wrong the _moment_ we realised that Shaw wasn’t there. It had been almost too easy to learn his “plans”. Why hadn’t I seen it? Or at least been suspicious from the beginning. And now those still at the facility were going to pay the price. Damn it all to hell! Couldn’t this car move any faster?! 

Charles looked angry with himself. He was probably thinking the same thing that I was. Moira was trying to call the facility on the car’s phone. There was no answer. Shaw had to be there. Either that, or he was gone and they were all dead. Erik was the only one who looked calm about the whole situation. He had even put on his sunglasses. I envied him. I would have loved to have had that frame of mind. I wasn’t so lucky, unfortunately. My life kept on taking dark turns. When would it just be stagnant? The feeling in my gut told me never.

The car pulled to the front of the CIA facility. I didn’t wait for it to stop before I burst out of the doors. I stopped almost immediately. Bodies of CIA agents were scattered across the grounds. Including the MIB. So far, no mutant bodies. I shivered and took to the air to get a better view of the scene. It wasn’t just there. It was _everywhere_. I held back my horror and focused on the fact that I hadn’t seen the other six amongst the dead. I dropped back to the ground. I had seen that the CIA had already dispatched a team to search through the rubble. We walked through the courtyard and I saw them sitting on a bench.

I supposed that I shouldn’t have been surprised. Shaw wasn’t in the habit of killing his own kind. Not when they didn’t attack him, that is. Maybe there was a chance that they were still alive, then. God, I hoped so. I would blame myself if they had gotten hurt. I would, because I had told Charles to leave them here for their safety when they would have been safer with us. Who would have guessed? I shook my head. They were just kids. There was no way that we could have known. When Raven saw Charles, she jumped up from the stone bench she had been sitting on and rushed to him. They embraced. I felt a familiar calm rush over me and I could see how Erik was feeling so calm.

Charles walked away from Raven, keeping a hand on her shoulder. “We’ve made arrangements for you all to be brought home immediately.”

“We're not going home.” Sean said.

“What?” Charles turned to face him.

“He's not going back to prison.”

“He killed Darwin.” Alex responded.

“All the more reason for you to leave. This is over.”

“Darwin's dead, Charles.” Raven said. “And we can't even bury him.”

Charles did look sympathetic, but he didn’t know what to do other than to send them home. There really wasn’t anything that he could do other than that. But I had this nagging feeling in my chest. A feeling that I got every time that I thought about Monica.

“We can avenge him.” Erik said.

Charles and I were both surprised by what Erik had said, but for completely different reasons. I was shocked that he had said what I had been thinking. I supposed that it should have been an obvious solution, as that was something we had both been searching for for quite a long time. I hoped that we hadn’t been thinking about using them to get our own revenge. I had an unfortunate feeling that it would mold them into something much darker. But they weren’t children anymore. I could see it in their eyes. The fun loving kids that we had seen two days ago. It was strange how quickly people could change. 

“He’s right.” I said after a moment’s pause.

Charles looked at me incredulously. He had always thought that I was the more reasonable of Erik and I, and generally I was. There was just something about today that had thrown that out the window. It was the fear I had felt, I think. I had been terrified that they had died, and one of them had, while the other left us for Sebastian Shaw. That had broken the little voice inside of me that told me when something was right and something was wrong. 

And I was okay with that.

“Sky, Erik, a word, please.” Charles said. We walked to the side. “They're just kids.”

“No. They _were_ kids. Look at them. Look at Raven. Do they look like they’re still just kids to you?” I said.

“You begged for me not to take them and they weren’t ready.”

“And they still aren’t. I hate to say it, but what choice do we have at this point?”

“Shaw has his army, we need ours.” Erik said, taking off his glasses and putting his hands in his pockets.

I could see that Charles was coming to see it our way. That was good. That was a good thing for all of us. Charles turned to face them. He could see it. I knew he could. They were ready now. They knew not to underestimate him, or what we were asking them to do, anymore.

“We'll have to train. All of us.” Charles said to them all. “Yes?”

“Yeah.” Alex agreed.

“Well, we can't stay here. Even if they reopen the department, it's not safe.” Hank pointed out. “We've got nowhere to go.”

“Yes, we do.” Charles gave a small smile.

What the hell did that mean?

* * *

It meant another plane ride, apparently.

A plane to New York, actually. Charles had spent some of his childhood years there. He explained that he had a house there. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, hoping to get some sleep, but ultimately failing. I looked out the window. I saw some birds fly by us. How I envied them. Erik was reading a newspaper while the others slowly began to become themselves again. Hank was flying the plane. I stood and walked to Charles. He had a chess table set out. I saw no reason not to join him. We started a game. Charles did present quite the challenge. I had played with Erik when I had nothing to do. Chess wasn’t my personal favourite pass time. This was the first time that I had actually sought out a game. It was something to keep my mind off of everything else that was going on around us.

It was a draw. The plane landed before we could finish the game. I was pretty sure that I was close to losing, so I graciously accepted this development. We took a rather large car to the house.

I don’t think that it could legally be called a “house”. It really was more of a museum. It was certainly large enough to be a museum. It was certainly better than the cold concrete of the CIA facility. Charles had grown up there? My old childhood home didn’t even compare, and that was saying something. He and Raven had grown up here. It must have been lovely for them. I wondered what the inside would look like. 

“This is yours?” Sean said in disbelief.

“No, it's ours.” Charles smiled at us all.

“Honestly, Charles. I don't know how you survived, living in such hardship.” Erik joked.

“Well, it was a hardship softened by me.” Raven playfully hit his shoulder. “Come on. Time for the tour.”

We all walked down. Raven was more than happy to give us a full tour. There were several bedrooms. More than enough for all of us. Two libraries, because those were apparently both needed. I had no words for the whole thing. It was massive and impressive and a little bit excessive. It would serve our purposes well enough. Charles wanted to start training as soon as possible, but I was able to convince to wait a day. It was late into the afternoon and we would all need time to adjust. We were allowed to pick our rooms. That was nice. I picked one that had a view of the woods that lined his property. Those would make it easy for me to fly unnoticed. That would be useful, especially if I was going to train here. That was the plan.

I sat on the queen sized bed and fell back against the soft mattress. How long had Charles lived here? It was quite lovely. I looked up at the beige ceiling. What were we going to do? I knew that the morale of the others was way down. It would take a lot to bring them back up to what they had been that first night. The main hope was that the training would be enough to take their minds off of Darwin and Angel. Off of Shaw. There were no guarantees that it would work. They had suffered. I strongly believed that if I had been able to get through my own traumas mostly in tact, then they could survive this. They certainly had more people than I had. There were many positives that surrounded their recovery.

There was a knock on my door.

“Come in.” I said, sitting up.

Erik came in. “I see you picked a room close to mine.”

“Please. If anything, you picked one close to _mine,_ as I was here first.”

“Of course you would see it that way.”

“What brings you to my corner of the mansion?”

He smiled and sat next to me. He pulled me into a kiss. “I hadn’t done that in a while.”

“Is that all?”

Erik looked thoughtful for a moment. “Yes.”

“Fantastic.”

He walked to the window and looked outside. He was frowning. I walked behind him and wrapped my arms around, reaching his chest and resting my cheek against his back. I could just barely hear his heartbeat. It was steady and strong.

“Do you think that they can survive this?” He asked.

“I think they can survive anything now, as long as we’re here for them. We have to nurture them, and care for them enough that they don’t forget what happened, but are strong enough to prevent it from happening again.” I responded. “Just like we can never forget what happened to us, no matter how horrible it really was. Our experiences make us.”

“Or break us.”

“Do you think that you’re broken, Erik?”

“I know that I am.”

I couldn’t do anything except bring him closer towards me. I knew that was how he felt. It was obvious every time that I looked into his eyes. It was self-loathing for not being able to save his mother when he had to chance. It was hatred for Shaw and what he had done to him. I understood that feeling all too well. I wished that there was some way I could show him that wasn’t true. Not anymore. He hadn’t been broken for a long time, but it was all that he knew. Erik turned to face me. I gave a small smile.

“No one is broken forever. You just need someone to piece you back together.”

“And is that going to be you?”

“I think I’ve done as much as I can. I think that helping these people will do the rest for you.”

He looked thoughtful. That was the best that I could offer him. There really wasn’t much else to say. I cared for Erik. I had since the first day we met. Before then, I had only had George. George didn’t understand what it was to lose someone the way that Erik and I had. Erik was the one person who could understand what nightmares haunted me in the middle of the night, the creatures that I saw lurking in the shadows. Even a telepath like Charles would never fully understand. He had helped fix me. Monica had helped fix me. I wanted to do the same for him for as long as I could and to the best of my abilities. That was all that I could do.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because everyone starts somewhere

And so the training began. Charles went to each of us individually, and when he wasn’t with the others, I was. I had a hand in training some mutants before. George had occasionally sent me a new mutant that had no idea how to use their powers. I would help them unlock those powers if I could. That was the goal here. Charles was far more encouraging than I was.

Moving on.

It was a little more difficult to find something for me, as my mutation wasn’t as… involved as some of the others. I focused more on physical training. Charles apparently, with the help of Erik, set up an obstacle course of sorts designed to test the limits of my flight. If Erik had a part in it, then it was guaranteed to have some _twists_. I wasn’t really looking forward to it, but that was the point. I opened my wings and cleaned them, taking off loose feathers and cleaning the others carefully. The thing about feathers is that they had an intricate system of interlocking parts that when split apart, could only be put back together by a hooked beak. Or my skilled fingers, as these wings were a tad bit larger than a birds. Still, it took a long time, but was necessary to make sure that they were actually useful.

I stood in front of the course. It really was intricate, like my feathers. I took a deep breath. It was now or never, wasn’t it? Charles was next to me.

“Remember, Sky, focus on what’s happening around you. Your wings are a part of you.” He said.

“Always have been. That’s not going to change now.” I responded.

I looked at the course again. It was a labyrinth of metal, barely large enough for me to get through the entrance. I hopped a little on my toes before I took off. The force of my wings meeting with the air knocked Charles back a step. As I reached my first turn, I brought my wings in close to me, making a sharp turn, kicking off the wall to build up momentum. A part of this test was speed. The faster I could get through it, the better. It would make my life easier if I was in a fight or fleeing from, say, Sebastian Shaw. I made another sharp turn. Erik sure wasn’t making my life easy, was he?

The course had been built in the woods, so there was an open place with a small forest. The trees were close together. I maneuvered my way through them, hitting a branch that caught in my arm. There was a cut, but it would heal. I continued. I found the way back into the labyrinth. I pushed off of another wall. It burned my hand. Clever Erik. The metal was heated. It would burn me if I touched it. I would have to do so sparingly, then. I brought my wings in close again. If even on feather got burned, then they would be rendered useless. I made my way through at a slightly slower pace.

I had to be getting close to the end. This course was out of the way, but surely it wasn’t that long. I had taken a few wrong turns, but nothing that I couldn’t fix quickly. I could see it. I could see the end. I moved towards it.

The moment happened in slow motion. The cage fell down on me. I had to pull my wings back just to make sure that they didn’t get crushed. I pushed up on the cage. It was a heavy metal. I couldn’t push it off. The door was locked. I was stuck. I was trapped. I was in a cage barely big enough to fit a dog. Eight years of torture came flooding back to me as I struggled to get out. I was stuck. I was here and I was alone and no one was going to help me out. 

My chest started to constrict. It was getting harder and harder for me to breathe. I hit my fist against the floor. Not now. No. Please. I struggled to keep my breathing steady. It wasn’t working. I had to get out of here. I had to get out. I couldn’t be in here. 

I could hear the doctors talking to me. About me. For me. Through me. I felt their scalpels against my skin and I saw their eyes filled with cold curiosity. I had no way to get out and to be free from it all. My vision went spotty and then faded away. It was there. The memories. The fear. The stench from blood and rotten food. Things that we couldn’t get away from. The things that haunted me in my nightmares. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the cold of the floor beneath me.

No.

I wouldn’t be stuck here. I refused. I opened my eyes. I extended one wing and grabbed a feather. I reached for the lock. A few seconds passed and I was able to pull the lock away and push open the door. I stumbled away from the cage, falling outside of the maze. I tried my best to get away from the metal beast. I felt arms wrap around me and pull me to my feet. I instinctively moved away, turning to face whoever it was. It was Erik. He was smiling like he was proud of me.

“You… you did that? You put that in there?” I breathed.

“You had to be tested.” He responded.

“You knew! You knew what that would do to me and you did it anyway! How could you?!” I pushed him away from me.

“Because it was the only way that I could _really_ do to get your nightmares to stop.”

“You did it with the best intentions.” I scoffed.

“Of course I did.”

Of course he did. The road to hell was paved with the best intentions. I turned away from him and walked across the yard. Charles walked towards me. I ignored him. He continued walking to Erik. I didn’t care. I didn’t have the energy to care. I made my way back to the house. I needed the walk to clear my head. Did he really think that this would be the answer to my nightmares? If anything, that little stunt of his would make them worse. I walked into my room and started pacing. I had never thought that he would be able to do something like that to me. I had hoped that he would never want to or feel the need to. I thought… never mind what I thought, as it was clearly wrong. I shouldn’t have made assumptions about him.

There was a knock on my door. It was Erik. He was coming to apologise, I knew it. He felt guilty after. Maybe he didn’t. I had no way of really knowing. I wouldn’t know unless I let him in.

So I did.

I walked away from the door and kept my back to him.

“Sky, I’m sorry.” He began. “I was thinking of you as I thought of myself. It was a mistake.”

“You think?! For fuck’s sake, Erik! You _know_ what those people did to me! How could you?”

“I know! The instant you came out of there, I regretted it, but you have to understand that if you are in that situation again, you can’t be scared. You can’t let your fear overwhelm you.”

“And so you thought that trapping me in a metal cage was the best option?”

“Not the best one, but certainly the only one available here, in this place.”

“You’re insane.”

“Only partially. When it comes to your safety. I _will not_ let anything happen to you. Not where things like this are concerned.”

“You may not have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice. It’s just a matter of will.”

“Not everything comes down to that, Erik.”

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to his chest. I felt his steady heartbeat and his breath against my neck. I knew why he had done that. I didn’t like that he had. I hated to admit it, but it had worked. Sort of. I didn’t feel the same anxiety thinking back on it. It didn’t make it any better. Erik’s sense of good intentions was skewed. That much was obvious. I closed my eyes and took a breath. I had to breathe. I turned to face him. I looked at his eyes. They weren’t filled with the familiar and dark cold curiosity of a scientist or someone who had meant me harm, but affection and regret. He thought differently than I did.

I knew that this was who Erik was. There wasn’t much I could do to change him at this point. Still, I wouldn’t give up hope. He had a softer side to him. I had seen it. I was seeing it now. It was genuine regret. He had had no idea how I would react. Well, maybe he had a small idea, which didn’t help his case in my eyes. I knew that that side was there. I just had to find it and bring it to the surface. I rested back against his chest. In the grand scheme of things, I had had much, _much_ worse things done to me. And Erik never would have let anything truly bad happen to me. He had proven that to be true several times.

“Just so you know, this doesn’t mean that I forgive you,” I said, “but we can’t begin fighting now. That would be the opposite of productive.”

“I know, and I _am_ sorry, Sky, but we can’t risk you having an episode when we’re facing Shaw. I won’t do it again. You have my word.” 

“I know the risks I’m facing, Erik, but there are better ways to have me face my fears. For instance, anything that _doesn’t_ involve dropping a heavy metal cage on your girlfriend.”

“I will keep that in mind.” He kissed me. “Girlfriend?”

“Well, that does make sense, doesn’t it? You _do_ have all of the benefits, after all.”

“Oh? Tell me more about these… _benefits.”_

* * *

I listened and watched as Charles encouraged Sean. He and Hank were in a room a little bit over from mine. I was ignoring the others that were leaning out of the other room. Even Erik was amongst them. The theory behind what was about to happen was what had brought all of us out. I was sitting on the window sill, waiting patiently for the results. Erik smiled. I wondered if he could hear what Charles was saying. I certainly couldn’t. Sean didn’t seem to happy. He looked back at Hank with a loathing smile on his face. I knew that he was supposed to be taking to the air soon. I wasn’t entirely certain that this would work. Hank had constructed a set of flaps that attached to his arms. They would hopefully allow for him to stay airborne.

Sean rolled his shoulders and pushed out of the window. Before he could build up a powerful enough scream, he fell into the bushes. There was a collective wince from all of the spectators. Sean pushed himself back to his feet and brushed off the leaves. He gave Hank a not so pleasant hand gesture and the rest of us a thumbs up. He was OK.

It was certainly an interesting concept. I had never heard of anything like it. Hank must have been thinking about it for a long time. I wondered if it would ever work. It was obvious that if it was going to, Sean would need to be on a higher precipice. I looked out to the large satellite. Maybe that would work. I fell backwards off the sill and opened my wings, letting them catch the air. I flew higher, coming back down and hovering near the window Erik was by. The others had all left. He grabbed the colour of my shirt and pulled me into a kiss.

“Get in here.” He smirked, yanking me inside.

“Calm down there, love. You’ve got you’re own training with me. Meet by the front of the house.”  
I said as I came down to rest on the sill once more. “And then, another session with Charles today. Best get to it

“You’re training people, then?”

“‘Course. I’ve got experience.”

“As have I.”

“Then bring it up with Charles if you really want to deal with these young people.”

I shrugged and walked away. I was helping Hank with a couple of things that he wanted to work on before my session with Erik. I wondered how both of the events would go.

* * *

I moved a little on my heels as I waited for Erik. I knew what I wanted to work on. It was something that I had seen George do once or twice since I had known him. Granted, I only ever saw him when I was in London, which was hardly ever these days. Especially since I had met Erik. I shook my head. More important things and all of that. Erik came over to me.

“So, what are we working on today, boss?” He said.

“Don’t talk like that. I want you to fly.” I responded.

“That’s _your_ mutation, Sky.”

“Yes, and I know that you can do it, too, if you try.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?”

“You control metal. We know that. We also know that metal is all around us. It’s in the very ground. You can feel it move if you focus.” I took his hand and held it above the ground. “Spread your fingers. Feel it underneath you. Now, think about using that metal to float. That magnetic field that surrounds the earth, that’s what suspends you. Now, go on. Do it.”

He looked at me curiously, but he knew that he I wouldn’t lead him astray. Not on purpose, anyway. Erik held out both of his hands and closed his eyes, feeling the pull of the earth. He began to rise into the air. He was shaky at first, but he made it through that phase surprisingly quickly. He slowly rose higher and higher into the air. I joined him.

“See? You can fly to.” I laughed.

“I understand now why you don’t like planes. This is much more freeing.”

“Isn’t it?” I looked up at the sky. “It’s the feel of the air that gets me up here everyday. It’s the freedom to do whatever you wish.”

“It’s powerful.”

“Yes, Erik, it’s powerful.”

It was the true gift of my mutation. Freedom. After so many years of being trapped and stuck, I was given freedom. Freedom that I wasn’t going to give up without a fight. Freedom that I would gladly fight to give to others. I stayed in the air longer than Erik did, just enjoying it. I would take whatever moments I could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, friends. I'm probs gonna post another chapter tonight, so stay tuned.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have had a shitty couple of days, but this story is done. I think that I'll post it all tomorrow. At least, I hope that I will. Maybe. I don't know. :P

Charles, Erik, Sean, Hank, and I were standing on top of the giant satellite in the yard. This was probably his last chance to fly, but hey. If he couldn’t do it, I was there to pick him back up before he hit the ground. Of course, he didn’t know that. He wouldn’t try as hard if he knew that he had a safety net. I held on to the railing and leaned forward. It was quite the drop. Maybe I would just jump off myself. Erik stood next to me.

“Thinking about jumping?” He asked.

“Of course. You?” I turned to him.

“I have found whenever I’m in a high place, I have an uncontrollable urge to jump.”

“It’s a common reaction. Every human, mutant or not, has that urge. It’s an old Freudian concept. A sort of survival tactic.”

“When have you had time to learn all of this?”

I shrugged. “I read a lot of books in my free time.”

“I don’t have that urge! I’d rather go back to the ground!” Sean said.

Oh, right. We were here for a reason. I turned to face Sean. I put a hand on his shoulder. He just had to have the confidence to do this. Screaming at a high enough frequency would allow for him to fly.

“It’s the most freeing feeling in the world, Sean. You just have to know that you can do it.” I said.

“And you truly believe that I’ll fly this time?” Sean turned to Charles. 

“Unreservedly.”

“I trust you.”

“I’m flattered.”

He looked at Hank. “I don’t trust him.”

Hank opened his mouth to defend himself.

“Say nothing.”

“I’m gonna die!”

“Look, we’re not going to make you do anything-”

“Here, let me help.” Erik said, walking towards Sean.

Somehow, I knew what he was going to do before he did it. He pushed Sean off the satellite. Charles ran to the edge and I prepared to jump. Erik stopped me. Sean started to scream. The waves bounced off of the dish and… he took to the air. Erik was smiling like a fool. Charles looked angry. I shrugged and fell off of the satellite, opening my wings. I flew next to Sean. He laughed.

“I told you it was freeing!” I shouted, laughing a little myself.

I brought him back to the top of the satellite. He was congratulated by all of them. It was impressive. And Charles had known that it would happen. Charles had an uncanny ability to know what, exactly, a mutant needed to unlock their true potential. I wondered how, exactly, he would help Erik unlock his potential. And what affect it would have on him. Hopefully a positive one. He needed it more than any of us. I flew back to the house. I had some reading to catch up on.

* * *

I sat in a chair in the sitting room, reading a book. I had gone through my training today. I needed to catch up on my reading, anyway. I mostly read educational books. I had missed out on the whole “high school” thing. This was how I knew what I knew. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known half of the things that I did. Moira was messing with the TV, trying to get the picture to be clearer. A technopath would have been useful in this instance. I wondered if there were any and what they would be capable of. I shook my head and turned back to the book.

“Come on! The President’s address is in a few moments.” She groaned.

“The President?” I turned to face her. 

“Yeah, he giving a speech on the embargo, if I could just- ah! There we go.” Moira went to the window and called out to Erik and Charles. They both came inside. Erik’s eyes were a little red, like he had been crying. I looked at him and turned my head to the side. He sat on the arm of my chair and promised he would talk about it later. He was holding a gun in his right hand. I sincerely hoped that that hadn’t played a part. I shook my head again and turned to face the television. The President’s face appeared. I shifted. Charles looked at me and his eyes filled with understanding. 

This was the first time that I had heard John’s voice in over ten years.

I took a deep breath. Here it was. Sure, it was only through a television screen, scratchy audio and in black and white, but it was him. I set my book aside. Now it was Erik’s turn to look at me curiously. It looked like we would both have something to talk about, then. I focused on the television, leaning forward in my chair, hanging onto every word.

“It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile crossing the embargo line that surrounds Cuba as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union…” John said.

“That's where we're going to find Shaw.” Erik said, gesturing with his gun.

Again, why did he have a gun?

“How do you know?” 

“Two superpowers facing off and he wants to start World War III. He won't leave anything to chance.” Charles sighed.

“So much for diplomacy.” Erik shook his head. He faced the others. “I suggest you all get a good night's sleep.”

They all looked afraid, as they should have. They had seen what Shaw and his mutant friends were capable off. They had Angel. This rag tag group of mutants knew. It was just a matter of whether or not they, we, were strong enough to face Shaw. We would have to be. There was no margin of error. Not this time. I looked out at the setting sun. Had it really only been a week since we’d gotten here? It felt like a lifetime ago. I sighed and stood.

“He’s right. We should all try and relax while we can. And tomorrow-” I began.

“Is the beginning of the end.” Raven said.

I hoped that she didn’t really think that way. There was no changing it now. There was just no time. I walked towards the door, prepared to head to my room. I would have to take my own advice. I was rubbish at relaxing, I really was. It was something about having that time to just think. My thoughts would always turn back to my nightmares. I had to admit that since we had started, my nightmares had gotten better. I would have to find something to keep me calm.

“Sky, may I have a word?” Charles said before I could leave.

“‘Course. What’s wrong?” I asked.

“How have you been sleeping as of late? Erik was worried about your, erm, nightmares. He wanted to see if I could do anything to help.”

“Well, I don’t think that even someone with your powers could help me now. It’s been so long, I’ve gotten used to them.”

“Sky-”

“I appreciate you trying to help, Charles, but what could you do?”

“I could unlock your subconscious. When you’re awake, you’re calm. It’s something I’ve admired about you, but as soon as your subconscious mind takes over, you lose that. If I could just- do you mind?” 

He was talking about getting inside of my head. I nodded. If it would help with the nightmares… I would do anything. I could feel him almost walking in my mind, searching for something. I almost instantly felt a familiar warmth wash over me. It was Christmas morning, 1949. John was visiting from Washington. None of us had thought that he would be able to. The children had all run downstairs and he was waiting for us. It had been a beautiful day, snow on the ground and an all in all great day, after so many Christmases that had been overshadowed by the war. Most of mine, actually. Charles left my mind.

“That… you and Erik have more in common than you could possibly know.” He said quietly. 

“What do you mean?” I asked, already knowing that I wouldn’t get an answer.

“I… that was beautiful, Sky. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

“Thank you for your help. I suppose we’ll find out if it worked tonight.”

“I suppose we will. If you need something to do, I’ve been craving a game of chess and Erik is nowhere to be found. Would you care to play? We never finished our game on the plane.”

“As long as you can promise to play fairly.”

“I always do.”

“Then why not? A game of chess would be good for me.”

I looked out at the sun. It had almost completely set now. Dawn was coming quickly. I was prepared this time. I was ready to face Shaw and win. I had a strong feeling. This was going to be a turning point for us. It really had to be, didn’t it? Charles and I walked into the study. He already had a board set up. I poured myself a glass of scotch and set it on the side of the table. Charles sat across from me and the game began. I was trying my best to be as strategic as possible. I found that I had strategy, but I was far better with people than pawns.

Erik came in about halfway through our game. He poured a drink and stood by the fire. He had something on his mind. I could tell. Charles could as well. We both sat back in our chairs and waited for him. Someone had to speak first. I wondered who it would be. It wouldn’t be me. Not with the tone that the room held in this time.

“And so begins the war.” Erik said quietly. 

I should have known that he would speak first. There really hadn’t been a question.

“Cuba. Russia, America. It makes no difference. Shaw has declared war on mankind, on all of us. He has to be stopped.” Charles pointed out.

Erik turned to face us both. I saw a familiar fire in his eyes. I had seen it the first day that we met. I had seen it many times since. It was completely renewed tonight. He was determined.

“I'm not going to stop Shaw. I'm going to kill him. Do you have it in you to allow that?”

He was addressing both of us. I looked away. I had always hoped that he wouldn’t want to kill Shaw by the end of it all. I had come to believe that killing him was a last resort myself. I wouldn’t miss him if he was killed, but I had long since given up my own dreams of killing Shaw myself. Erik hadn’t. I don’t think that he would be able to have any sort of peace until he _knew_ that Shaw was dead. Dead by his own hands.

“You've known all along why I was here, Charles. But things have changed. What started as a covert mission, tomorrow, mankind will know that mutants exist. Shaw, us, they won't differentiate. They'll fear us. And that fear will turn to hatred.”

But would it really? Not everyone would be afraid of us. Not all would hate us. I knew that was true. It was human nature to be afraid of change, but some would embrace us.

“Not if we stop a war. Not if we can prevent Shaw. Not if we risk our lives doing so.”

Again, that wasn’t entirely true. They were both making assumptions that had no grounds.

“Would they do the same for us?”

Some of them.

“We have it in us to be the better men.”

“We already are. We're the next stage of human evolution. You said it yourself!”

“No…”

“Are you really so naive as to think that they won't battle their own extinction? Or is it arrogance?”

Charles stood from his chair so he could face Erik at the same height. Or a similar height. Sort of. Was I taller than Charles and never noticed it before? How strange.

“I'm sorry?”

“After tomorrow, they're going to turn on us. But you're blind to it, because you believe they're all like Moira.”

“And you believe they're all like Shaw.”

“Sky, you must agree with me! You’ve seen what they do to mutants. You’ve been a part of it.”

“Of course, I know what they’re capable of, but you’re forgetting, very easily, I might add, that not all humans are like those men. Just like not all humans are like Moira, Charles.” I sighed. “There is no way of knowing what they will do once they know, but we have to know what _we_ will do and how we will react. That’s all that should matter.”

Charles sighed. Did he see it my way? Did he understand what I was trying to tell him? Did either of them? I hoped that they could see, if not today, then soon.

“Listen to me very carefully, my friend. Killing Shaw will not bring you peace.” Charles said to Erik once more.

“Peace was never an option.” Erik assured us.

I looked down. He deserved peace. He deserved it more than any of the people out there. And he wouldn’t get it, would he? He would always be stuck with the ghost of Shaw. He would be stuck with 214782, always chasing him away from peace and back into chaos.

And I couldn’t help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean, I've gone longer between posts.


	15. **15**

I walked up to my room, still thinking about what Charles, Erik, and I had talked about. We would never be able to guess who would and wouldn’t be afraid of mutants. Both of their ways had flaws and I, of course, had no way at all. I shook my head, an action that I did quite a bit, I had noticed. It didn’t matter. I changed into a tank top and a pair of sweatpants to sleep in. I was going to need at least a little bit of rest, even if my nerves didn’t want to let me sleep. It was better to have nerves keeping me awake than nightmares. I wasn’t sure that what Charles had done would work. I certainly hoped that it would.

I thought about his idealistic view of the world. Wouldn’t it be nice if that world could exist? I wasn’t sure that he was sure of it himself. He needed something to believe in, I supposed. And Erik was so pessimistic. He was stuck in the days of the past. He had never had _human_ kindness. Just mutant kindness, as long as Shaw was excluded from the list of mutants he had encountered. I had tried to show him a better way, but I think it had been too long engrained in his brain that anger and violence were the way to go about this.He was broken. Then again, so was I. I wasn’t exactly a saint myself. I looked in a mirror. 

I had gained some muscle this week. That was a good thing, I supposed.

There was a soft knock at my door. I opened the door. It was Erik.

“Hey.” I said. “Come in.” I backed away to let him in.

“I just wanted to… I saw your face when I said that I was going to kill Shaw. I thought that was what you wanted.” He said.

“It was. Once. But times change. Things change. I changed. I suppose that I thought… nevermind. If that’s something you’ve got your mind set on, then there’s nothing I can say to stop you, you stubborn man.” I chuckled. 

I was trying to make light of a bad situation that I didn’t agree with. There would be no stopping Erik. He had ways of stoppin all of us. Well, maybe not Charles, but the rest of us, he would have no problem. I had kept him from killing the innocent. I had done my best. I had tried to, anyway, and I liked to think that I had succeeded, at least for the most part.

I turned and walked away from Erik. He lightly touched my back.

“Your scars… I’d never seen them before.” He lifted my shirt slightly, running a hand across them. “They’re by your wings.”

“It was a favourite pass time of the scientists.” I took his hand and put it just over where my wings would meet. “If you were to press down there, you would force my wings from their resting place. Naturally, this can be quite… forceful. They did it so often that it left scars.”

“And you’d still defend them?” He said softly.

“I’d defend Monica and the people that are like her. Never those men or those like them.” I turned to face Erik. “Never the men like Shaw.”

“Never.”

“Never.” I said again, kissing him.

He pushed me back against the wall, pulling on my hair to angle my head. He had my arms pinned above me, his body pressed against my own. He moved to the crook of my neck, his breath tickling my skin and making my shiver. He had a slight stubble that heightened the sensations I was feeling. He pulled one of my legs to wrap around his waist. I had given him complete control, something I was fine with. He let my arms go. I grabbed his hair. He moved back to my lips. 

Erik broke the kiss to pulled my tank top off. I untucked his shirt. Why did he always wear a fucking turtleneck? It was making this situation significantly harder. He carried me to the bed, dropping me down. He pulled off his shirt, revealing his toned chest. He flashed a signature crooked smile as he pushed my sweatpants over my legs, tugging my panties with them. I shuddered with anticipation as he placed kisses on my thighs. He licked my clit once. I clutched at the sheets. 

Fuck, it had been a while.

I let out a helpless moan. He slid two fingers inside of me and I gripped at his hair. He kept his hands on my legs, keeping them spread apart. I lightly moaned his name. It surprised me that it had taken us over a year to get to this point. There was always something in the way, whether it was time or people or ourselves, and now that we were here, I never wanted to let go. I wanted to stay in this moment forever because _god_ it was perfect. Erik curled his fingers and had a satisfactory smile on his face as I came. 

He kissed me again, pulling me out of my stupor. He took off his khakis and sort of towered over me. It wasn’t intimidating. He had never intimidated me for so many reasons. Erik was perfect and wonderful and amazing. Our eyes met for a moment. His blue-green eyes were dilated with want and lust.

Erik pushed into me with one long, deliberate stroke. I gasped. It wasn’t just from his size. He filled me completely. His eyes never left mine. His hips rocked against mine, enhancing the pleasure that I felt. His rhythm was slow and steady and _painful_. My breath was sporadic, coming in between my heartbeats, then syncing with it. My heart sped up as he continued. I pulled him down so our lips met again. I moved to his jaw and made my way to his neck, kissing and biting down lightly. Erik let out a groan. He was losing control. A rare sight indeed.

I wrapped my legs around his hips, a way of urging him to go faster. He gladly complied. Erik groaned my name. It was electricity between us. I felt flashes of all of the good times that we had spent together. I needed to be close to him. I needed him to know how much I needed him because then he would understand why I stayed. He had asked me more than once why I didn’t leave him and this was why. The way that I felt when I was around him was unlike anything I had ever felt before. It made all of the bad experiences in my life go away and it left just us.

I felt Erik’s body start to tremble against my own as he gave one last thrust. He held me close to him, almost crushing me against his chest. Everything finally slowed down. 

We laid there for a moment. I stayed against his chest, lightly making patterns along his arm. I looked up at him. He was so perfect. He was so much more than what he saw. All Erik could see were the numbers on his arm and the damage that Shaw had done. 

I looked at the numbers. The black ink had faded with time, but they would always be there. Erik and I were both flawed. Maybe that was why we fit well together. We were both broken. I rested on his chest again, closing my eyes for a moment. I was having a hard time picturing my future without him. He was a part of me. I think that he always had been and that was why we hadn’t killed each other when we first met. We had certainly both thought about it. 

“What did Charles say to you today? When you came into the room today, you looked… well, I was just curious.” I shrugged.

“He reminded me of the good times I had had, before Ausch- before everything that happened. Before Shaw. And it was good. It was something that I forgot I had.”

“What did he show you?”

“Hanukkah. With my mother and father. It was a few years before the camps. We celebrated in secret.” Erik kissed the top of my head. 

I could picture a young Erik sitting by a menorah with his family. I could feel the joy he must have felt.

“What about you? You weren’t exactly happy when I saw you.” Erik asked.

“Christmas with John, my brother. He lived, well, lives in Washington, and I didn’t get to see him much. When I did, it was great. Those were some of the best days of my life. That was about a year or so before I discovered my powers.”

“You don’t talk about your brother much.”

“Because of several reasons.” I chuckled. “The largest of which being that he is the President of the United States.”

“You’re a Kennedy?” He said incredulously.

“Skylar Theodora Kennedy, at your service.” I responded, waving my hand dramatically.

“You’ve always said your last name was Weller.”

“When Monica found me and we got close, I took on her last name. Skylar Kennedy is, for all intents and purposes, dead. There’s a body in a grave in Massachusetts with a headstone that has that name on it. They all think that I’m gone. Besides, they don’t need me to carry on the family name. They have _him_. Not to mention Rob. And our father. They don’t need their little sister anymore. And that’s fine.”

I truly mean that, I liked to think. At least, I had had my chance with them. I had many great memories of my family, but those were the days of the past. I had to think about the future now. I would always love them, all of them, but I was Sky Weller now, not Skylar Kennedy.

“You’re someone else now. I can understand that.”

“If anyone could, it would be you.”

I closed my eyes. Erik sang a lullaby to me, once in polish and once in english. It was the same one from that night… the lullaby that his mother had taught him.

 _“Odpocznij moje dziecko. Dzień się skończył. Słońce zaświeci. Gdy przyjdzie poranek. Ale teraz jest ciemno i świat jest spokojny. Więc daj odpocząć oczom swym i zaśnij._ Rest my child. The day is over. The sun will shine. When the morning comes. But now it’s dark and the world is calm. So let your eyes rest and fall asleep.”

I drifted to sleep listening to his voice. A dreamless sleep. That hadn’t happened in so long. It was nice and I got the first restful sleep I had had in what felt like forever. Whether it was from Charles’s intervention in my memories, or Erik being near me, I would never now. I was just grateful that I had it at all.


	16. Chapter 16

When I woke up, Erik was standing by the window, fully dressed. I groggily reached around and found clothes of my own. Erik looked over at me. He didn’t have the easy smile of last night. Instead he had a somber expression. Neither of us said anything. There was nothing to say. Not today. We were facing Shaw. I let out a breath. Calm and collected. Well rested. I reached into my bedside drawer and pulled out two things- a necklace that had a pearl charm on it that I always wore and the story that Monica had written about a fallen angel. 

I never left home without them. Erik set down the metal wings.

“They were always supposed to be for you. Consider them an extension of me. I will always be there to protect you.”

“I know, Erik. And I will never leave you alone. I promise.”

“I…”

“If this is to be our last day alive, I want you to know that I love you, Erik Lehnsherr.”

He smiled. “I love you too, Sky Weller.” 

We were going to have our hands full. That much was obvious. But we were ready for it. We were ready for anything as long as we remembered what was really important. I kept the story here and I took the wings, putting them in my pocket. Erik and I walked together. We were all meeting down by the lab, where Hank was supposed to be waiting for us. Raven was standing there in her true blue form. I smiled. She looked beautiful. She smiled shyly back. I was glad that she was finally accepting herself. If anyone here needed it, it was her. She looked proud to be here. We all walked to the lab. There was a note on the door. Charles looked at it curiously and pocketed it before pushing open the door.

To say that it was chaotic was an understatement.

It looked as if Janos himself had come through here. What had happened? More importantly, where was Hank? That note meant that he knew this had happened. I hoped that he was all right. Unfortunately, there was no time to waste. Not today. We didn’t have that much time to begin with. We certainly had none to lose. The group made our way through the mess until we reached a metal box with an “X” across the top in black tape. Charles pushed it open. I looked inside and raised an eyebrow. 

“Hank has been busy.” Charles said.

“Do we really have to wear these?” Alex asked.

“As only one of us has mutated to endure extreme g-force or being riddled by bullets, I suggest we suit up.”

Charles closed the lid again. Erik used his powers to move the box outside of the lab and we each found the suit that was intended for us. My own looked very similar to the rest, but had no sleeves. I supposed to make it easier for my wings to reach their full strength. There were two holes on the back. It was perfect, except for the colour. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the yellow and blue colour, but I would have to make due with what I was given. Hank had been busy, that was for sure. When had he had time to do all of this? Somewhere in between speaking with Raven and all of this destruction, apparently. Erik gave me a once over when I came back.

“Not bad.” He winked.

“Yeah, well, I try my best. Come on. We’ve got to go. No time.” I said.

We took two cars to the airbase. There was a particular hanger that Hank had instructed us to go to. I had no idea what, exactly, was waiting for us there, but it was hopefully something that would help us get to Shaw that much faster. We got there early. Everyone got out of their cars and we all entered the hanger. The door was open. The group entered. Well, this was… impressive. 

It was a plane. To be specific, it was the full-sized version of the model that we had seen when we first met Hank. How had he gotten access to this? I found that it was best to not ask questions that should have had logical answers but clearly didn’t, especially when it came to mutants. And anyone involved with them. There was no logic. I shook my head and turned to look at the plane again. For some reason, we had formed a line just looking up at the plane. I was next to Erik and Raven was next to me. I didn’t really pay attention to the others. I had decided to ask the one question that needed an answer: where the hell was Hank?

He was nowhere to be seen, but he had asked for us to come here. So where was he?

“Where is Hank?” Alex asked.

It was good to know that I wasn’t the only one worried about the guy.

“I'm here.”

He was walking towards us, but I couldn’t quite see him because the light was directly behind him. He broke out of the shadows. He… was different. It wasn’t a bad kind of different, it was just different. He had blue fur. Fur. That I hadn’t been expecting. This looked like who he was supposed to be. He had always been this underneath, and now he was the person he was meant to be.

“Hank?” Charles said.

“It didn't attack the cells. It enhanced them. It didn't work.” Hank looked away from us in disappointment.

“Yes, it did, Hank. Don't you see? This is who you were meant to be. This is you. No more hiding. Mutant and proud.” Raven said with an encouraging smile.

“You never looked better, man.” Erik said, hitting his arm.

Hank reached forward and grabbed Erik’s neck. He growled. I quickly moved forward and grabbed Hank.

“Hank!” I said, pulling at his arm.

“Don't mock me!”

“Hank, put him down immediately, please.” Charles was surprisingly calm. “Hank! Hank!”

Ah, there was the freak out. Hank looked at Charles and dropped Erik to the ground. 

“I wasn't.” Erik said as he got his breath back. 

I helped him to his feet.

“Even I got to admit you look pretty badass.” Alex, erm, _Havok_ , said. “I think I got a new name for you. Beast.”

“You're sure you can fly this thing?”

“Of course I can. I designed it.”

That was true. We would just have to have faith in his ability to not kill us all. If something did go horribly wrong, then I could just fly away. And Erik could keep the plane together with his powers. There would be a plan to prevent us from blowing up. Hopefully. I took a breath and boarded the plane. I waited until Havok, Raven, and Banshee were seated and strapped in before sitting myself. I was near the front and had a view of Hank and the window. I could see outside. Charles and Erik were the last to sit down. Moira was on the side, in charge of all communications. We were as ready as we were ever going to be. 

This plane was fast. Very fast. We had to get from New York to Cuba in the span of just a few hours. I was anxious to get there. We had to stop Shaw. I wasn’t looking forward to World War III, as I was one of the fools who lived in it. I really didn’t want to die like that. Or live on a world under Shaw’s rule. That was a plan that just didn’t make sense to me. How was he planning on getting all of those people to just unite under his rule? I shook my head. More important things to focus on. I turned to face the group. We were ready for this. We had spent all of that time training. They had seen Shaw for themselves. As long as we stuck to whatever plan we came up with, there was no reason that this wouldn’t work. Probably. I mean, statistically speaking, Shaw had won against us… 100% of the time, but we had spunk. And he didn’t. Not really. Yeah. We’d be fine.

I was going to stop thinking about it now.

We reached Cuba before things had escalated too much at the embargo line, but the Russian ship was approaching fast. There was no way that Shaw was going to leave anything to just chance. We had already determined this. 

“The crew of the Aral Sea are all dead. Shaw's been there.” Charles said. “He's still here, somewhere. He set the ship on course for the embargo line.”

“If that ship crosses the line, our boys are going to blow it up.” Moira responded, looking back at us.

“And the war begins.” I said back.

“Unless they're not our boys.” Charles said.

He had a plan. I could practically see the cogs whirring in his head. What was he thinking? The Aral Sea wasn’t stopping. What were we going to do? I supposed that I would be able to go down there and stop the ship from crossing the line… that might have been our best option. Charles beat me to the planning stages. He put two fingers to his temple. What was he doing? Hank looked out the window.

“Hang on!” He yelled.

Oh. That was why.

A missile flew by our window and Hank pulled off some risky maneuvers that saved all of our lives. There was a collective scream from Havok, Banshee, and Raven. I just held on to dear life. Erik was lucky that he controlled metal as he hardly moved at all. Bastard. Charles breathed in heavily and opened his eyes. I gave a silent applause. 

“A little warning next time, professor.” Hank said.

“Sorry about that. You all right?” Charles turned to Raven.

“Yeah.” She responded.

Yes, we were all alive. That was a start, I supposed. Shaw wouldn’t be able to use this to create thermonuclear war. That was a win for us. Still, as long as Shaw was free, he would have this ridiculous dream. We had to stop him. To do that, we had to find him. He wasn’t on the Aral Sea. Charles would have been able to sense him there, whether it was through the teleporter or his own powers, but there had been nothing.

“That was inspired, Charles.” Moira complimented.

“Thank you very much, but I still can't locate Shaw.”

“He's down there. We need to find him now.” I said. 

I unbuckled myself and moved to the front, sitting in the seat next to Hank. I looked over the devices. There had to be something here that could tell us where Shaw was. Something. Anything.

“Is there anything unusual on the radar or scanners?” Moira asked.

“No. Nothing.” I sighed in frustration.

“Well, then he must be underwater.”

“And obviously, we don't have sonar.” Hank sounded disappointed.

“Yes, we do.” Banshee said.

I looked back at him. Then it clicked.

“Yes, we do.” Charles said with pride for his student.

Charles, Erik, and Banshee all gathered by the end of the plane. Charles spoke to Banshee. I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I strapped myself back in. You never knew what could go wrong. Hank made a sharp turn to avoid something.

“Hank, level the bloody plane!” Charles yelled to us.

“Whoa! You back right off.” Banshee yelled at Erik. I turned around. Erik backed away innocently. “Beast, open the bomb bay doors!”

I pressed a button and they opened. Charles gave Banshee some last minute advice before he jumped into the water. This was our best option to find Shaw. I just hoped that it worked. Charles was keeping a constant connection with Banshee while he did this. I tapped my foot impatiently. Charles made a triumphant sound. I supposed that meant that our plan worked.

“Banshee has got a location on Shaw!” He turned to Erik. “Are you ready for this?”

“Let's find out.”

I wished him a silent good luck. He could do this. Erik was stronger than any of us knew, I could feel it. I turned back to face the front. Erik was strong enough to do this. I knew he was. I could hear the metal creak and the water shift. I looked out the window. The submarine was flying through the air. Erik was doing it! He was moving the submarine through the air! I knew that he could! 

Well, shit.

That was a fucking tornado. Hank and I exchanged a glance. I hoped that he had the skills to maneuver us out of this one. He warned for everyone to hold on while he tried to keep the plane steady. 

It didn’t work.

The tornado caught the end of the plane and we were sent spinning through the air. The most that Hank could do was land the plane on the beach. Well, crash the plane on the beach. My head snapped back against the seat and my vision went dark.


	17. Chapter 17

I didn’t stay out for long. I opened my eyes to realise that I was upside down. I could taste blood in my mouth. I unbuckled myself again and fell down, using my hands to brace myself. My hands were covered in cuts. I watched as they all slowly healed themselves. I shook out my muscles. That was a fantastic start. Erik had made his way over to me. I waved him away. He couldn’t be focused on me and I couldn’t be focused on him. We would have to be split up for this, otherwise we would be too focused on keeping the other safe. Shaw would obliterate us in an instant. I got to my feet and took stock. Nothing was broken and all of the cuts were healing themselves. I’d live.

The end of the plane had been ripped off. That was disconcerting. I leaned against the side of the plane. We needed a plan of attack before we did anything else. Shaw’s men would have one. It would probably be just to protect Shaw at all costs.

“I read the teleporter's mind. Shaw is drawing all the power out of his sub. He's turning himself into some kind of nuclear bomb.” Charles said.

Would that make him sacrifice himself? Would Shaw die? A part of me was hoping so. But we had to stop him before I got a chance to find out. That was exactly what I intended to do. 

“We’ve got no time. The Geiger count is going out of control.” Moira said.

That was true. This entire beach was going to be flooded with radiation if we weren’t careful. Moira would burn up and the rest of us… who knew? I had never really been exposed to deadly amounts of radiation. Just slightly uncomfortable. Or maybe those would have been deadly to a normal human. I needed to stop getting sidetracked. I had no time for that now.

“Moira, this is what we're gonna do. Get on the radio and tell them to clear both fleets out immediately.”

See, Charles was thinking rationally.

“I'm going in.”Erik said.

“Sky, Beast, Havok, back him up. Erik, I can guide you through once you're in, but I need you to shut down whatever it is that's blocking me, then we just hope to God it's not too late for me to stop him.”

I nodded. “Got it.”

“Good luck!”

The four of us ran out of the plane. There were three of them. Including Angel. She could have done so much if she had just stayed with us. I shook my head in disappointment and unfurled my wings. Havok used his powers before Janos could use his powers again. Man, that guy really was useless, wasn’t he? I took to the air. It looked like it was going to be Angel and I. Havok and Beast had Azazel. Wonderful. Angel charged at me, using her acidic spit. I easily dodged it. She had bug-like wings. They looked fast, but they were nothing compared to my own, and I was adapted to survive in higher altitudes. Not to mention G-force. She rushed at me. I let myself fall.

I built up momentum. I kept my wings close to my body and waited until the last second to pull up. Angel wasn’t so lucky. She collided with the ground. I didn’t expect for it knock her out and it didn’t. It was fun to see her getting so flustered. She was only five years younger than me, but I was already _decades_ ahead of her when it came to using my wings. She came back into the air. The more frustrated she got, the easier it would get for me to fight her. It was a play on her weakness. I looked back briefly to Havok and Beast. They were both gone. So was the teleporter. No time to worry about them. I dodged another ball of acid spit. I lost sight of Erik as he entered to submarine. I heard Havok shout. He was on a cargo ship. I wouldn’t really be able to help him. But I knew someone who could and he was just under the surface. 

I flew down and grabbed Banshee by the arm. I gestured to Havok. He nodded. I let him go at an angle and he screamed, the waves hitting the ship. He grabbed Havok. I was satisfied with my work. I turned back to Angel. She… she wasn’t there? What the- oh. Oh shit. She had decided to go after Havok and Banshee. She had managed to burn a hole in one of Banshee’s wings. I flew under him. He dropped Alex for me to catch. I grabbed his arm and took him to the beach, gently dropping him down. Angel was still in the air. I knew of one thing for certain that would keep her from attacking us in the air.

I rocketed towards her, hitting her in the chest. She spun in the air. I hated doing this, but it didn’t seem like I had any other choice. I grabbed one side of her wings and pulled down, snapping them in two. I shuddered as I thought about that happening to my own wings. She tumbled back to the ground and fell unconscious. I came down as well. I didn’t really have any other choice. It seemed like all of our adversaries were knocked out. Good. We gathered around each other. No one had any serious injuries. Now it was all up to Erik. Erik. I turned to the submarine. God, I hoped that he was all right. I had a feeling that he was still alive. I couldn’t really describe it. I just… I knew. I walked back to the plane. Charles was struggling. He had to have Shaw. That would be the only thing that would explain this.

“Erik, please. Be the better man.” Charles was begging. “Erik, there will be no turning back! No! Don't do this, Erik!” He turned to me and looked desperate. What was I going to do? There was no way that I was going to be able to stop Erik from killing Shaw. “Please.”

Damn him. I turned out and started running. The others called to me. I didn’t say anything. I ran to the submarine. The middle of the sub, yes? I could barely feel Charles in my mind. He nodded. I found the broken mirror room. Erik was standing there. He had a metal helmet on his head and was staring at Shaw. Shaw looked so helpless. Just… stuck there like that. And Erik was enjoying it. He looked over to me.

“Erik, please. You _know_ you don’t have to do this.” I said.

“Yes, I do. He killed my mother. He killed Monica, Sky. Think of all of the pain that he has caused for both of us. I can end that here and now.” Erik said. “I can end _him.”_

“Or you could walk out of here with me. Right now. You and me, against the world. The way that it used to be.”

“I’m sorry, Sky. But I can’t let him live. And I’m sorry for this.”

He waved his hand and a heavy metal bar swung across my chest. I was pretty sure that it broke my sternum, as I was struggling to breathe. Erik held up a metal coin. A coin that I had seen more than once. It had been the first thing that Shaw had tasked him to do. It was the reason that Shaw had killed his mother. It was the reason behind all of this.

“If you're in there, I'd like you to know that I agree with every word you said. We are the future. But, unfortunately, you killed my mother. This is what we're going to do.” Erik turned the coin in his hand and stared down Shaw.

“No. Please, Erik, no.” I said, struggling to get free.

“I'm going to count to three and I'm going to move the coin. One.”

The coin moved through the air. I couldn’t help him anymore. I couldn’t stop him. No. No!

“Two.”

There had to be a chance, Erik. Erik could change. Please. 

“Three.”

The coin went through Shaw’s mind. I stopped struggling. Erik let the metal bar fall to the floor. I fell with it. Erik had killed Shaw. He looked at me, sympathetic for pinning me to a wall but not for killing Shaw. And that wasn’t enough for him. I saw him put metal cuffs on Shaw’s arms and walk out of the sub. I had no reason to stay here any longer. I walked out. Erik had started to fly through the air, taking Shaw with him. I looked down at the ground. I had failed. Charles walked outside with Moira. 

“Today, our fighting stops! Take off your blinders, brothers and sisters. The real enemy is out there. I feel their guns moving in the water, their metal targeting us. Americans, Soviets, humans.” Erik said, gesturing to the fleet while he dropped Shaw to the ground. “United in their fear of the unknown. The Neanderthal is running scared, my fellow mutants! Go ahead, Charles. Tell me I'm wrong.”

No, please. They had to be better than this. I knew that they could be better than this. Please. But even I knew that Erik was right. That was how they thought. And Erik was powerful. Charles was powerful. That was all that it would take to destroy them. At least, that’s what they would be thinking. They wouldn’t be thinking about how we were good people. How we had helped them. Erik had been right all along. He had been right and he had told me.

“Erik, you said yourself, we're the better men. This is the time to prove it.” Charles said.

“There are thousands of men on those ships.” I shook my head. “Erik, please!”

“Good, honest, innocent men! They're just following orders.”

No. That was what lost Erik. Charles shouldn’t have said that. I could see all sympathy leave Erik’s face.

“I've been at the mercy of men just following orders. Never again.”

He looked at me, as if he wanted me to join him in this quest. The fleet fired their missiles at us. Erik, naturally, caught them in the air and repositioned them to face the fleet. He sent them flying. And he wasn’t letting anyone close to him. 

“Erik, release them!” I shouted. “Now!”

“I don't want to hurt you.” He said as Charles got closer. “Don't make me!”

I wasn’t going to stand here and do nothing. I ran forward. All I had to do was get the helmet off, right? Then Charles could take control. I charged Erik, grabbing him around the waist and dropping him to the ground. He lost control of the missiles and looked at me like I had betrayed him. Did he think I would stand aside while he did this? I couldn’t get his helmet off. He pushed me off of him and shook his head. I wouldn’t have been able to stop him. Not because I wasn’t strong enough, but because I… I couldn’t do that to him. Moira started to shoot a him. No!

“Moira, don’t!” I shouted.

It was too late. He deflected the bullets. I saw the bullet that hit Charles. It hit him in the back and he collapsed to the ground. Erik looked at his friend in shock. All of the missiles fell into the water. He couldn’t believe what he had just done. I couldn’t believe what he had just done. Erik ran to Charles. I moved towards him, staying at the otherside. Erik pulled out the bullet and looked at me helplessly.

“Stand back!” He shouted as the others got closer to us. “I'm so sorry. I said back off!”

He saw Moira. His expression turned dark again. I knew what he was planning to do. I could see it in his eyes.

“You. You did this.”

He used his powers to pull back on her dogtags, choking her. She struggled to breathe. He was murderous.

“Erik. Please.” Charles said softly.

“She didn't do this, Erik.” I said, touching his arm. He let her go and looked at me.

“You did.” Charles looked up at his friend. At our friend.

“Us turning on each other, it's what they want. I tried to warn you, Charles. I tried to warn both of you. I want you by my side. We're family, the three of us. All of us together, protecting each other. We want the same thing.” Erik said sadly.

“My friend. I'm sorry, but we do not.”

Erik looked down at Charles incredulously. He looked to me and I shook my head. This was wrong. Wanting to kill those men was wrong. He stood and gestured for Moira to go to Charles. She held him up. I stood as well. I didn’t want Erik to hate me. I didn’t want to pick sides.

“This society won't accept us. We form our own. The humans have played their hand. Now we get ready to play ours. Who's with me? No more hiding.” Erik said.

Raven looked at Erik, but walked to Charles. I was between Erik and Charles.

“You should go with him. It's what you want.” Charles said to her.

“You promised me you would never read my mind.”

“I know. I promised you a great many things, I'm afraid.I'm sorry.”

“Take care of him.” Raven said. “And, Beast, never forget. Mutant and proud.”

Erik held out his hand to me. I walked to him and smiled sadly.

“I’m sorry, my love, but I can’t go with you.” I said softly. I pressed my lips against his. “I love you, so much, but… this, what has happened here… I have to form my own path.” I looked at Charles. “I’m sorry to you, too.”

“Where will you go?” Erik asked me. “Will we see each other again?”

“I believe so, Erik. You and I… we’ll never let go of this.”

He nodded. Azazel, Janos, and Angel walked to Erik. They all left. I kneeled next to Charles.

“Help me out, come on. I'm gonna get you to a hospital.” Moira said.

Beast was next to Charles, looking over him.

“Wait, Charles. Charles, don't move, okay?”

“I won't. Actually…” Charles looked down at his legs. “I can't feel my legs.”

“What?” I said.

“I can't feel my legs. I can't feel my legs.”


	18. Chapter 18

I had stayed with Charles while he got accustomed to his new chair. To his new life. I had a room in the school. That was what he was going to make here. I thought that it was a great idea. I hoped that he could impart some of his knowledge to his students. He was going to make an amazing professor. I knew it. I thought about Erik. I hadn’t heard anything from him since that day. I knew that I would. Soon. Like he had said, we couldn’t stay away from each other. We were a team, through and through. I looked around the room. It was empty now. That was the way that it was supposed to be. I looked at my bag. I knew that I wouldn’t be staying here for long. I wasn’t sure that a school was for me, unfortunately.

I walked outside. Moira and Charles were walking together. Well, Moira was walking and Charles was, erm, wheeling. I walked towards them. I had to tell them that I was leaving. I wasn’t the type of person to leave without any notice. Maybe that was something that I would have to change. I got close enough that I could hear their conversation. They hadn’t seen me yet. 

“So, how many students do you think you'll have here once you get the academy up and running?” Moira asked Charles.

“As many as I can manage. Possibly more.” Charles responded. 

They stopped and looked up at the school. Well, it was going to be a school. Charles was going to pay to expand it. The property extended much farther than I had realised. This was going to be impressive once it was finished. I would have to come back and visit. I wouldn’t stay here, though. I wasn’t sure that I could. There would be too many memories of times spent here with the others. Banshee and Havok had left. It was just Charles and Hank. Maybe it was wrong of me to leave now, but it was the only thing that I could think to do. I sighed and walked forward with a smile on my face.

“You know, one day the government is going to realize how lucky they were to have Professor X on their side.” I said.

The two of them turned to face me. I gave Moira a hug. There was a car waiting for her. She was probably leaving as well. I supposed that I hadn’t thought of that. I wondered what effect it was having on Charles. He certainly had feelings for her. He smiled at me and looked at my bag curiously, but stayed out of my head, thankfully. This was something that I wanted to tell him myself. I wondered how he would react to it. He would be supportive. That was his nature. Still, he would want for me to stay.

“I suppose I am a real professor now, aren't I?” He chuckled. “Next thing you know, I'll be going bald.”

“God forbid you have some humility, Charles.” I smirked.

“We're still on the government's side, Moira.” Charles said, turning serious again. “ We're still G-men. Just without the ‘G’.”

“No. You're your own team now. It's better. You're X-Men.” Moira said.

“Yes, I like the sound of that.” I smiled.

“Moira? For us, anonymity will be the first line of defense.”

“I know.” She said seriously. “They can threaten me all they want, Charles. I'll never tell them where you are. Ever.”

“I know you won't. I know.”

Charles kissed Moira. I turned away. This was a private moment for them. Or for him, as when Moira pulled away, she had a dazed expression. She walked to the car and left. I looked at her curiously. She hadn’t even given us a second glance or acknowledged the fact that Charles had kissed her. I stood next to him.

“What did you do?” I asked.

“I wiped her memory of this place. Of us.” He wiped away a tear. “And you? Where are you going?”

“Oh, you know, off to save the world.” I joked.

“Sky…”

“I don’t think I can stay here, Charles. Too many memories. And besides, then I’d be picking sides and I knew that I wasn’t going to be doing that for various reasons.”

“What will you do? Where will you go?”

“I got back in contact with an old friend, George. He’s been spending the last two years hunting down facilities like the one that held me. I’m going to go join him. Send some students your way.”

“And to Erik?”

“If that’s what they want. I’ll keep a few for myself, of course. In all seriousness, this is something that I have to do, Charles. I promise to come and visit.”

“I know you will. And you’re sure that there’s nothing I can say to stop you?"

“No, not this time. I have to follow my own path, Charles. If I don’t, then I will spend the rest of my life wondering and regretting.”

“I know. You’re going to be fantastic.”

“You haven’t seen the last of me, _Professor X.”_

“Nor you of me, _Azure.”_

I had no doubts about that. Charles was going to be a force to be reckoned with. I knew it. The three of us were. We would be the leaders of the mutants, keeping them under control. Protecting them. The way it was supposed to be.

* * *

I walked through the field. George was waiting patiently for me to arrive. He had actually built up a pretty decent facility for himself. He had a few followers of his own. I was more than happy to join them. George was waiting out for me. He smiled when he saw me. I realised that I had almost completely forgotten what he looked like. Either that, or he had changed a lot since he had last seen me. I supposed that that made much more sense. He had short hair now, clipped close to the sides of his head. He was wearing a t-shirt and a leather jacket. A leather jacket that reminded me of Erik. I shook my head and smiled at my old friend. 

“George. It’s been far too long.” I said, giving him a hug.

“I’ll say. Over two years. Barely seen ya, boss.” He said. “What have you been up to?”

“I joined the CIA for a bit. Saved the world from thermonuclear war.”

“Oh, is that all?”

“So, what have you got going on here, George? Anything that I can help out with?”

“Well, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.”

We walked inside. The building was just as impressive inside as it was on the outside. It had the most recent technology, as well as a few things that I didn’t quite understand how he had gotten his hands on. There were a few people walking around with a purpose. They said hello to George as he walked by. He sure had been busy. My bag was taken by someone. George assured me that it was all right. I had spent the last year being suspicious. Maybe it was time to be a little more trusting. Trusting of these people. They seemed like good people to me. There was no reason to not trust them. George had picked them out himself. He had trained them. I trusted George with my life and he trusted me with his. That was something that took a long time to formulate. Unless, of course, you both suffered through years of torture and got away together.

“So, why’d you bring me here, George?” I asked, turning to face him.

“I want you to be the leader.”

“Excuse me?”

I couldn’t lead these people! I wasn’t trained for that! I mean, I know I had said something about it with Charles but I was expecting to be maybe second in command, not the actual leader of it all. That just seemed like poor judgement.

“I built all of this for you. For us. Think of it. Travelling across the world, freeing mutants and saving people that need our help. And there’s no one better to be in charge of it all.”

Well, that wasn’t true.

“Are you sure, George? I mean, you built all of this by yourself.”

“And I never would have gotten the chance if you hadn’t been there to set me free. I’m eternally grateful for that.”

“You don’t have to be.”

“I know. But this is about more than just us. This is about them.”

I looked out across the people. They deserved better, didn’t they? I wasn’t a leader. Still, it felt good. It felt like this was what I was supposed to do, somehow. I wanted to help these people. I had come here to do just that, right? I chuckled. This was what I was going to do. I was going to be the one that freed the mutants and gave them a choice. They could go to Erik or Charles, or stay with me and continue to free other mutants. If I got enough followers, we could close down facilities like that for good. Finally. That was what I wanted to do. 

I looked to the window and thought of my friends. A part of me hoped that Charles was looked over me with Cerebro so he would know that I was doing something useful and good. I wasn’t going to let my training with Charles and Erik go to waste. I was going to do this for all the people that couldn’t fight for themselves. For those that were stuck. 

I was going to become Azure.

**Author's Note:**

> I've got four stories planned out, including this one. The next two would follow DOFP and Apocalypse and the last one would be an original story line. Yeah. Fun times.


End file.
